


Something Better

by Aiden1999



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Excuse for Steve to be a good gay dad, Gay Will Byers, M/M, Maybe a slow burn?, Other, Post-Season/Series 03 Fix-It, Robin and Steve would make good gay parents, Shared Trauma, billy has a lot of trauma, him and steve fuck, meant to be a kind of season 3 fix it, people don't know how to deal with their issues, soft recovering boys, starts off as porn, will deserved more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 04:01:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20203378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aiden1999/pseuds/Aiden1999
Summary: Billy and Steve use each other. After the Mind Flayer, things aren't the same but maybe they could be better.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is badly edited, I wrote most of it in one night with no sleep and with very little editing. It's mainly porn at the beginning but just wait, more plot with come soon.

It starts because Steve is angry and drunk and pretty sure seeing Billy bleed would be the thing to cheer him up. He’s at a party. A party at Tommy H’s house, unfortunately. The last party of his high school career. Graduation is a few days away and he’s gonna be stuck in Hawkins for the foreseeable future since the only college letters that came in the mail were thin, depressing notes of rejection.

It’s months after Steve ventured down into dark, slimy tunnels with a pack of thirteen-year-olds to burn a monster to the ground and months after Billy Hargrove punched his teeth in. Months after he gave him a swollen eye and nose that didn’t fully heal for a few weeks after he woke up concussed on the Byers couch along with the rest of the kids the next morning.

He’s feeling wobbly and not really there.

The anger is the only thing holding him to reality. Surprisingly, Nancy and Jonathan are at the party together, nestled in a corner of the kitchen, only talking to each other and it pisses Steve off no matter how badly he doesn’t want it to piss him off. He’s trying to be better. He’s trying not to be an asshole anymore. He decides to walk in the opposite direction of the kitchen.

He’s outside, stalking across the yard towards the edge of the forest where there are a few people scattered along the grass around a joint or a cigarette. He keeps walking until the sounds of the party are dimmed. The beer in his cup has sloshed along his hand. Steve brings it to his lips to finish it off in one gulp. He hears twigs crunch behind him and he tenses immediately, bracing for monsters and all the horrible things that hide in the dark in Hawkins. But instead, he hears a familiar voice.

“Is that you, Harrington?”

Steve’s not entirely relieved not to find a monster when he turns around and sees Billy Hargrove leaning against a tree, cigarette in hand.

“What are you doing out here all by yourself?”

“What do you want, Hargrove?”

He smirks in the way Steve’s sure makes every Hawkins High girl swoon but only makes Steve wanna swing at him again.

“Came out here to see you, pretty boy.”

“Look, I didn’t come here to fight or whatever. So if you-”

Billy takes a step towards Steve. “Who says I wanna fight you, Harrington?”

He takes a few more steps so there’s only about a foot of space in between them. “Besides, I wouldn’t call me kicking your ass a fight.”

“Okay, you know, what-” Steve turns to leave. He’s too drunk for this shit and Billy’s right. Steve still remembers the pain from the concussion and the stitches he needed on his lip the last time they fought. He’s barely taken a step when Steve feels Billy’s hand grip his wrist.

“What? Are you afraid, pretty boy?” Billy takes another step forward. “It’s just us out here. What do you think I’m gonna do?”

“Fuck off,” Steve says. Billy only smirks. “Afraid the boogeyman is gonna getcha?” Billy taunts. “King Steve scared to be out by himself with Big Bad Billy.”

“Let me go, you fuckin psychopath.”

Billy’s eyes light up at Steve’s words.

“How bout you stop being a bitch, Harrington-” Steve’s last name is barely out of his mouth before Steve’s fist lands against it. Billy folds back, letting go of Steve’s wrist. He stands back up immediately, laughing in the same way he did when Steve punched him in the Byers’ kitchen all those months ago. There’s blood trickling out the corner of his mouth.

“There it is. Feel good, Harrington?” Billy’s back in Steve’s space again, breathing heavily in the small pocket of air between their faces.

Steve brings his hands up to shove against Billy’s chest but Billy wraps his hands around both of Steve’s wrists this time, holding them at his side so Billy’s chest is pressed up against his own.

“What do you want from me, Hargove?”

“Can you just shut up, pretty boy?” Billy growls into his chin before smashing his lips against Steve’s. Steve doesn’t even think to struggle. His body, especially his lips, go numb for a few seconds before kickstarting of their own accord, pressing hard against Billy’s mouth. Billy’s tongue pushes Steve’s lips apart. He traces the insides of his mouth thoroughly, so eager and reckless that their teeth clash together several times. Steve doesn’t think to mind. He can taste the blood from where Steve punched him.

Billy takes Steve’s lips in between his teeth, sucking in a way that releases an embarrassing noise from the back of Steve’s throat. At the sound, Billy’s hands take off in a frenzy, shoving themselves under the back of Steve’s shirt, gripping his ass through his jeans. Steve lets loose another moan at the sensation.

With Billy’s hands off of his wrists, Steve tangles one hand in the back of Billy’s jacket and grips the nape of his neck with the other, trying to pull Billy closer into him as Billy presses them into a tree. Steve tugs on Billy’s hair the slightest bit and the groan he gets in return has him harder than he swears he’s ever been. With the friction of Billy pressing against him and the attack Billy’s tongue is launching against his neck, Steve’s sure he’s about to come in his pants in seconds.

But soon the pressure of Billy is taken off of his body. Billy lowers himself to the ground, his hand trailing down Steve’s stomach along the way, latching on to the zipper of Steve’s jeans. “Oh, shit,” Steve breathes. He’s out of breath from the way Billy’s mouth and hands ravaged him but also at the sight of Billy undoing his fly with such ease. The cool air soon brushes against his dick as Billy slides his boxers down his thighs. He smirks up at Steve as he does it. “This what you want, pretty boy?” Billy asks before taking the head of Steve’s dick into his mouth. Steve’s too choked up to answer.

“Fuck, Billy.” Steve lets his head fall back against the tree. His hands tangle in the curls at the back of Billy’s head.

“You like that, pretty boy?” Billy asks, hands wrapped around Steve, tracing the tip of him with his tongue. “You like my mouth?”

Steve can’t believe Billy is talking to him to like this. No one’s ever talked to him this way. And it’s driving him insane.

He nods his head weakly. Billy takes him almost all the way into his mouth before pulling back to ask, “What was that? I didn’t hear you.”

“Fuck, yeah,” Steve answers breathlessly. He hears Billy laugh beneath him before taking him into his mouth again. Billy swirls his tongue along the length of him, one hand still jerking him while the other remains gripping his ass. In seconds, Steve feels the familiar tingle at the center of his groin, feeling sharper than he’s ever remembered. “Watch out, I’m gonna- I’m gonna come, dude-”

Billy only sucks harder and manages to push Steve over the edge, coming hard enough for him to feel the tremble at the base of his spine and in the curl of his toes. Billy swallows all of it with ease. “Jesus Christ,” Steve breathes. His eyes are still closed as he’s gathering himself against the tree, pants undone and dick still out. He hears the crunch of footsteps in the forest and opens his eyes to see Billy’s retreating form, taking off back towards the noise of Tommy’s party. Not knowing what to do and slightly embarrassed, Steve pulls his boxers and pants back up. He leaves the party around the side of Tommy’s house, avoiding the people and any blond, curly-haired assholes who might be inside.

***

Steve doesn’t see Billy for a few weeks after Tommy’s party. And he’s okay with that. Mostly. Steve was sure the asshole was just fucking with his head in another unique, twisted way. Blowing him in the woods then leaving him there with his dick out. It was weird but Steve felt sufficiently embarrassed. He was sure it was just a weird mind game he didn’t exactly get but who honestly could understand why Billy Hargrove did anything.

Plus, Steve doesn’t have time to ponder all the weird possible reasons Billy would have to mess with Steve’s head in that very specific way. His dad was forcing him to get a job since no school wanted to take him. He was even threatening to take his car away which Steve didn’t actually believe he’d do. They had two extra in the garage that were supposed to be his parent’s second cars but neither of them used their first car enough to ever need a second. He had dropped off what felt like hundreds of copies of his resume to whoever would take them that day. Unfortunately, his parents were home for a few days. It was one of the rare times they weren’t in the middle of business trips or vacations. With his parents home, he drives down to the quarry with a six-pack after he finishes dro

pping off the last of his resumes at the new mall that just opened up. Steve hasn’t been to the quarry in a few months. He hardly ever comes out here so he can’t believe his luck when turns off the road to see a familiar Camaro parked next to what use to be his usual spot.

He parks a few spots away from Billy’s car, close enough for Steve to see Billy leaning against the side of his car, cigarette in hand and his usual smirk aimed towards Steve.

“Well, well, is that you, Harrington?” Billy calls as Steve slides out of his car.

“Yeah, it’s me, don’t cream your pants.”

“Mmm, I could say the same to you.”

Steve’s face reddens. He doesn’t have anything to say to that. “Wanna beer?” He asks.

Billy studies him for a moment, eyeing him up and down in a way that makes Steve’s groin twitch uncomfortably.

“Sure.”

Steve tosses him a can. He stays leaning against the side of his own car, facing Billy. Steve’s close enough now that he notices the bruises marking the underside of Steve’s jaw and his split lip.

“What happened?” Steve asks. “Pick another fight?”

“Something like that,” Billy says. “Why are you out here drinking alone? Still heartbroken over that Wheeler bitch.”

“Hey-”

“Sorry,” Billy raises his hands slightly. “Forgot about your delicate sensibilities, princess.”

Steve doesn’t say anything. He sticks to drinking his beer in silence, avoiding Billy’s eyes on him. He’s twisting the tab off the top of his beer can, wondering how much longer he can take the awkward silence before fleeing in his car. Steve almost jumps when he hears Billy scoff. “Want me to suck your dick or what, Harrington?”

Steve only blinks at him, words failing him at that moment. “What?”

“If you want me to suck your dick, just say it, don’t beat around the bush like a fucking virgin.”

“I- I never said I wanted you to do that, asshole!”

“But you didn’t tell me to stop either, did ya?”

Steve runs a flustered hand through his hair. “You’re such an asshole,” he says. He can’t think of anything else to say. Billy scoffs again. “Right.”

Billy finishes off the rest of his beer, squashing the can in his fist before tossing it to the ground. He wipes his mouth with the back of his, his tongue capturing the excess beer dribbling from the corner of his lips. Steve follows the movements with his eyes in a way that makes his own chest tighten. Billy’s shooting Steve a familiar look of challenge, hip cocked so Steve’s eyes are drawn to the way his jeans cling to his body there. “You never answered my question, Harrington.”

Steve watches Billy’s hand play with the top of his own fly. “Want me to suck you off or not?”

Steve hates the fact that’s he’s already semi-hard, getting harder the longer Billy keeps looking at him.

His blue eyes full of pure want that makes Steve feel equal parts dirty and aroused. Billy begins to walk towards him. He stops just an inch short of touching Steve’s lips with his own. Steve hates how he wishes Billy would close the space and put him out of his misery already. His wishes are granted shortly when Steve feels a firm hand grip his dick through his jeans. Steve didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until he lets it go shakily at the sensation of Billy’s hand on him. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Billy says.

Steve’s pants and boxers are quickly pooled around his ankles. His eyes roll to the back of his head when Billy’s mouth is on him again, swirling his tongue and using his hands in a way that’s he’s never experienced during any other blow job before.

Most girls Steve’s been with usually hate it and don’t bother hiding that fact while others shyly lick at Steve like they’re afraid he’s going to break. Billy seems to drown in it as Steve peers down at him. He lets loose little moans that drive Steve crazy, his eagerness turning Steve on in a way he didn’t know possible. It’s amplified even more when Steve realizes Billy’s own fly is undone and his hand is wrapped around his own dick, slowly jerking himself off beneath Steve. It’s embarrassing how fast Steve comes each time Billy has blown him.

After Steve’s finished rather loudly and Billy is pulling back, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, peering up at Steve with blurry, smug eyes, Steve notices Billy’s still hard dick in his hand. Which is still moving. He gets an idea.

“Stand up,” Steve says before he can second guess himself.

Surprisingly, Billy doesn’t say anything annoying to fluster Steve. He simply stands up, leaning with his back against the car to face Steve, his smug eyes maintaining contact with Steve the whole time. His hand doesn’t ever stop moving along his dick. “Want something, pretty boy?” Billy asks.

Steve doesn’t want to think about the implications of his actions or all the reasons it's a bad idea as he falls to his knees. He’s only interested in focusing on the pure want flooding through his veins, a type of want he hasn’t experienced in what feels like years. He tentatively touches Billy, sliding his hand next to Billy’s who lets out a groan above him. Steve knows he wants to hear it again as he can feel himself getting semi-hard. Billy removes his hand, letting Steve figure it out for himself as he leans against Steve’s car. At least until Billy says, “Are you gonna suck it, Harrington, or keep staring at it?”

Steve thinks it can’t be that bad. He equates the act to jumping into the deep end of a pool as he gingerly licks the tip of Billy’s dick. Billy must like it as he releases another groan above him. Steve likes the sound enough to lightly lick again. Billy starts to squirm.

“Stop teasing, Harrington,” Billy groans through clenched teeth. “Use your mouth like you mean it.”

Steve doesn’t like being told what to do but for some reason, when Billy’s above him, looking flustered and unkempt for once, his words tinged with desire, it ignites something in his gut that has Steve slowly putting the whole head of Billy’s dick passed his lips. He’s thinking of how he likes to be blown as he licks and sucks along Billy, using his hands as well. “Fuck, Harrington,” Billy moans. “You feel so good.” Steve is definitely fully hard again as Billy let’s loose a slew of curses and groans.

Steve’s never fooled around with anyone so verbal. It’s driving him insane. Billy’s hands are gripping the back of Steve’s head, lightly guiding him as Steve eagerly follows direction. “Fuck, I’m gonna come.”

Steve keeps doing what he’s doing, debating whether or not he’s ready to let another man come in his mouth. But apparently, he’s debating with himself too long as Billy nearly collapses against the car, finishing into Steve’s mouth. Steve’s able to swallow with no problem, surprisingly. He doesn’t let himself think about it as he swallows. He focuses on breathing through his nose as he watches Billy attempt to catch his breath above him.

Once it’s clear Billy’s spent, Steve stands up, buttoning up his pants over the clear wood he’s sporting after watching Billy come apart because of him. “Fuck, Harrington,” Billy breathes. He opens his eyes to stare at Steve, chest still rising and falling heavily. “Didn’t know your mouth was actually good for something.”

Steve scoffs, shoving Billy aside to pull his car door open. He’s sliding into the seat, ready to slam the door shut when Billy puts his torso in between him and the car door. With one hand grasping the roof, the other resting along the top of his door, Billy leans into Steve’s space with annoying disregard for the quick, angry exit he’s trying to accomplish.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, princess,” Billy says. He holds Steve’s gaze for a few moments, looking like he’s going to say something before leaning out of his car. “I’ll see ya’ around.” After shutting Steve’s door, he stalks back towards his Camaro. Pulling back onto the dirt road, He watches Billy light up a cigarette in his rearview mirror, Steve’s knuckles turning white as he grips the steering wheel.

***

Steve had been thinking that the encounters with Billy were just one-off incidents. Occurring because Billy was bored and Steve just happened to be where he was with his judgment obviously compromised. Which meant they probably weren’t ever going to happen again since Steve hardly left his house much anymore. Which was fine. The only people he hung around with anymore were fourteen-year-olds, sometimes Nancy and Jonathan if they were also with the fourteen-year-olds. Which was pretty sad even though the kids were pretty funny sometimes.

Steve mostly shuffled them around from the Palace to the movie theater to his house so they could use the pool and watch whatever they wanted on what was probably the biggest tv they’ve ever seen in his living room. He never ventured out to the quarry anymore, either, preferring to smoke and, or drink in the privacy of his own house. So there was a very slim chance of running into Billy anytime soon.

Which is why when Steve opened his front door a little after midnight to find Billy Hargrove standing there, shirt unbuttoned to his navel underneath his leather jacket as per usual, it took him a second to process the sight. It had been a little over two weeks since the incident at the quarry. Which was what Steve had taken to calling his run-ins with Billy. Incidents.

“Hey, pretty boy,” Billy grinned. “You gonna let me in?”

“Uh..” Steve just blinked at him in confusion.

Billy took that as a sign for him to push passed Steve into his house.

“What are you doing here?”

“I heard you had a pool.”

“Yeah?”

“I wanna go swimming.”

“Why don’t you go to the public pool?” Steve says, crossing his arms over his chest. Billy laughs. “Yeah, I don’t do well with others, especially annoying little shits.” He shoots a look at Steve. “Sorry, I forgot that’s the only people you hang out with.”

Steve decides not to take the bait, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly instead. “You don’t know any other people with a pool?”

“No one else who’d let me go swimming at midnight.”

“I never said you could swim in my pool.”

Billy grins. “Sure, you did, pretty boy. Not so much with words.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“You said it with your eyes when you were sucking me off at the quarry.”

Steve feels his face heat up. “That not-You can’t even-That’s not something you can tell,” Steve says.

“Let’s not argue, pretty boy. I gotta be home in a few hours so…” Steve watches Billy walk through his living room and venture passed the sliding doors to his pool. He can’t believe this shit. He walks outside to find Billy stripping off his clothes, face reddening, even more, when Billy tosses his boxer briefs aside.

“Wanna take a picture, Harrington?” Billy asks, smirking at Steve in that flirty way he’s seen drive the female students, teachers, and moms of Hawkins wild. “It’ll last longer.”

“Fuck off.”

Billy’s grin widens before he launches himself into the pool. The water splashes high enough to wet Steve’s feet. Billy resurfaces seconds later, blonde hair matted to his head and grinning up at Steve. “Come in, the water’s warm,” he says. “Unless you’re scared.”

“Stop taunting me like I’m ten years old. I’m not gonna do something just ‘cause you call me a chicken.”

“Fine,” Billy folds his arms over the edge of the pool where Steve stands.“Come in and I’ll make it worth your while.” Billy winks as his tongue flicks out to graze his bottom lip in that way he does that Steve usually finds irritating. But right now, with Billy naked in his pool, it’s having the opposite effect. Steve can’t believe himself as he starts to pull his shirt over his head. Billy’s already has his dick in his mouth. And vice versa. Why not add skinny dipping to the list of things he’d never thought he’d ever do with Billy Hargrove.

“You’re lucky I’m having a very boring night,” Steve says.

“Whatever, princess.”

Steve’s hands hesitate at the waistband of his boxers. He notices Billy looking him up and down as if studying his whole body in a way that makes him feel exposed but also, strangely, attractive. Girls use to stare at him in the same kinda way back in high school but it was always focused on his hair or the amount of people he kept around him and always came with some level of reservation not to make it too obvious.

In contrast, Billy was very obvious. Steve was stripping the same way he’d take off his clothes if he were alone but Billy made him feel like he was putting on a show.

“You gonna get in or am I gonna have to play by myself all night?”

Steve quickly tosses his boxers aside, jumping into the pool with less force than Billy but still enough to take him all the way to the bottom. When he comes back up to the surface, sweeping his wet hair back, out of his face, Billy’s right there in front of him.

“You ever fuck a guy, Harrington?”

The question causes Steve to choke on air. He attempts to play it off as residual water in his lungs unsuccessfully. “No, have you?”

Billy grins. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“You seemed pretty experienced the other-”

Steve’s surprised at the force with which Billy shoves him. “I’m not gay, Harrington.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Don’t go insinuating shit like that. That stuff gets your ass kicked or worse.”

Steve thinks back to the last time he saw Billy, the bruises and split lip he had been sporting at the time.

“You know from experience?”

That earns another shove from Billy. “Didn’t your mommy ever teach you not to be so fucking nosy and to mind your own fucking business?”

“Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to be such a psychotic asshole?”

Billy laughs at that for some reason. Right before he launches himself at Steve. He braces himself for a fight, bringing his arms up and tensing his fists when Billy’s body clashes with his. But the only thing Billy attacks in his mouth, shoving his tongue inside and tracing all the spaces Steve’s never noticed before. His body is sandwiched in between the tile wall of the pool and the front of Billy’s bare body. Which he quickly notices as he feels Billy’s dick brushes against his own.

"Fuck, Harrington,” Billy groans, beginning to attack his neck.

He works his way from Billy’s earlobe to his collar bone and back against, nibbling and sucking in a way that should be illegal. “Fuck, Billy,” Steve moans. Billy’s hand goes to Steve’s dick, beginning to tug lightly. “You like that, pretty boy?”

“God, yeah.”

“Want me to suck you off?”

Steve wants nothing more in that moment. But he knows he lives in a well-populated suburb in Hawkins, small town, u.s.a, where anything can be roaming the streets at night and everyone wants to know everyone else's business. Not to mention the number of people who know exactly where he lives and where he keeps a spare key. Of course, he’s going to be a bit paranoid of anyone or anything seeing him in his pool with Billy Hargrove.

“Can we go inside?” Steve asks.

Billy pulls back, eyeing Steve curiously. “Sure,” he says swimming back towards the ledge nearest to the back door. Steve breifly watches the muscles in his back and arms flex as he lifts himself out of the pool before swimming in the same direction.

Steve starts to pick up his clothes from the ground. It takes a few seconds for him to realize Billy isn’t picking up his own. He looks up to see Billy leaning in the doorway of the sliding glass doors, still completely naked and looking like he’s waiting on Steve. “Gonna show me where your room is, pretty boy?”

***

Billy doesn’t bother drying off when they get to Steve’s room.

He basically throws the towel Steve offers him to the floor to attack against him his bedroom door instead. After a few minutes of fighting to keep upright with Billy’s tongue in his ear, Steve guides them over towards his bed, the dryness of his sheets be damned.

Billy straddles Steve, one arm holding him up and the other wrapped around Steve’s hip, grinding their dicks together. “Fuck, Harrington,” Billy groans directly into his ear. Steve gets the idea to start touching himself and Billy simultaneously, his hands working in between their bodies. Billy changes position so his arms are on either side of Steve’s head, watching as Steve jerks both of them.

Billy leans his head down to nibble Steve’s earlobe, earning a moan. “Can I fuck you?” Billy practically purrs into Steve’s ear.

“Will it hurt?”

“Not when I do it, princess.”

For some strange reason, the pet name does it for Steve. He’s too jacked up on pleasure, sitting on the precipice of a great orgasm, to imagine stopping. And he admits, he experimented before with a finger up there once or twice after Carol said she read somewhere that some guys like a finger up there when having sex with girls. It wasn’t unpleasant.

“Okay.”

Billy resumes nibbling along whatever part of Steve is in reach while Steve continues to jerk them both. After a few seconds, Billy pulls a bit. He brings his fingers up to Steve’s mouth.

“Suck on ‘em.”

Billy watches intently as Steve takes his index finger into his mouth, watching Billy’s face in return. He sucks up to his middle finger before Billy pulls his hand back. “Remember to relax,” Billy says.

Billy presses forward to battle Steve’s tongue with his own, one hand on Steve’s thigh and the other easing towards his entrance. It’s a bit of a shock when Billy first slides his finger in. Steve assumes Billy can feel him immediately tense so Billy starts sucking on the one spot beneath Steve’s ear Steve particularly likes, removing his hand from Steve’s thigh to rest above Steve’s shoulder.

“God, you’re so fuckin’ hot, Harrington.”

Steve’s pretty sure Billy’s noticed how much Steve likes it when he says this kinda shit to him. Billy begins to move his finger the slightest amount, stopping when Steve’s breath hitches. He stops moving, watching Steve.

“No, keep going.”

The movement is starting to feel good and soon Billy adds another finger after Steve is sure he could come from just the single finger alone. By the time Billy finally slowly eases himself into Steve, he feels like he’s on the brink of coming any second.

“That good, baby?”

Steve is sure it’s a slip of the tongue so he doesn’t acknowledge the pet name, just humming his assurance that whatever Billy’s doing makes him feel like he’s burning from the inside out.

“Fuck, Billy.”

“Ya’ like that, baby?”

There it is again. Steve doesn’t say anything but the name drives him crazy for whatever reason, pushing him closer so he knows he’s about to come real soon.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” Billy groans above him. “God, I thought your pretty little mouth was good.”

Seconds later, Steve’s orgasm is violent and loud. Billy soon comes in the same manner, swearing and shaking until he collapses beside Steve, skin wet from pool water and sweat. “God, I wish my smokes weren’t all the way down at your pool,” Billy mutters.

Wordlessly, Steve turns over towards his nightstand, taking out a pack and a lighter. He tosses them to Billy who accepts them gratefully. His body seems to relax as he’s spread out along Steve’s sheets, bringing his hand behind his head as he fills the room with smoke. Steve stands to open a window. He also tugs on a new pair of boxers from his underwear drawer since he figures their done fooling around. Billy watches him. They lay there in silence for a while until Billy stands up, still completely naked but without a hint of self-consciousness.

“Better get home,” he says. “Old man gets mad when I stay out too late.”

Steve stands to walk him out but Billy holds his hand out. “It’s fine, Harrington. I’m not a girl, I can walk myself,” he says before closing the door behind him, not even bothering to give Steve a weak goodbye. Steve grabs a cigarette from the pack Billy left on the bed. He lets the smoke calm his nerves as he wonders what the hell his life has come to.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy and Steve continue messing around. Summer goes on. Will and Steve bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter I churned out very quickly late into the night/early into the morning. Edited the best I could while very tired. Leave a comment if you like it.

It’s barely been one week of working and Steve’s already tired of his stupid, company mandated work uniform. Especially the hat. Scoops Ahoy is a bleak prospect for the rest of his summer. His only other co-worker isn’t too bad though. Besides the constant digs at his lack of game, Robin’s been pretty cool to hang around with in between bitchy soccer moms and bratty kids. 

“Dingus, there’s customers at the counter.”

Steve glances up from where they’re both sitting in the back room, avoiding customers. “Why don’t you take care of it?”

“I’m reading.”

“Sylvia Plath?”

“I’m trying to be more positive.”

Steve rolls his eyes as he strolls to the front counter. He finishes ringing up a mom and her five year old when all of the kids minus Dustin (whose away at science camp) come to the counter. 

“Guys, I just let you into a movie last night.”

They stare blankly at him. El is the only one who says anything. “Please.”

Steve rolls his eyes before escorting them to the door in the back. 

“One of these days you’re gonna get caught and fired, Dingus,” Robin says.

“Good, I hate this place anyway. I mean, look at my hair. Completely covered by this stupid hat.” Steve tosses it onto the table where Robin’s sitting. She doesn’t even look up from her book.

“Come on, it’s not that bad. You seem to be a real hit with the kids.”

“Ha ha,” Steve laughs sarcastically. “You’re just jealous I have a fan club.”

“A fan club of children.”

“Still a fan club.”

“Who use you to get them into r rated movies.”

“Hey, I take them to the arcade and the pool and other places too.”

“Wow, you sure got me there.”

They sit in silence for a little while after that. Another pro and con of Scoops Ahoy is the massive amount of down time in between customers when there’s nothing to do. Steve hates the silence. 

“So do you wanna go to a movie?”

“What?” Robin actually looks up from her book, eyes wide. 

“A movie? I heard Back to The Future is-”

“Yeah, no offense, Harrington but you’re not my type.”

“No! I didn’t - I didn’t mean it like that. I just- I meant like as friends, you know. Just friends.”

Robin eyes him suspiciously. 

“Hey, you’re not my type either,” Steve says. 

Robin scoffs. “Yeah, no shit.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I imagine your type is more along the preppy-popular-Nancy-Wheeler-type.”

“There’s nothing wrong with Nancy.”

“I’m sure there isn’t, that’s kinda the point.”

Steve’s confused with where the conversation has gone but decides to shrug it off. “So you wanna see Back to the Future or?”

***

Billy gets a job at Hawkins Community Pool. Steve knows this not because Billy tells him but because he’s sees Billy, only in his red shorts and whistle, sitting atop the lifeguards chair when he’s dropping the kids off one day. They decided they wanted to use a pool with a diving board instead of Steve’s inferior pool which was lacking one. 

Before he can caught staring at Billy too intently, he takes off out of the parking lot but Steve swears he can feel Billy smirking at him as he drives past the fence. 

***

Ever since they had sex, Billy and Steve had developed some sembelance of a routine. Instead of every few weeks, their encounters evolved to taking place every few days. Usually at the behest of Billy. Not that Steve’s complaining. 

Which is why it isn’t that big of a deal when he finds Billy on his doorstep later the next night, still in his red shorts and a ratty muscle tee. 

“Didn’t get to change after work,” Billy says, hand already pressing against his racing heart in Steve’s chest. “Got over here as fast as I could.” It’s amazing sometimes how little it takes for Billy to get Steve all worked up. 

When they’re done minutes later, clothes tossed along the living room carpet, bodies tangled up along the couch, they share a post-sex cigarette. Which has also become a part of the ritual of their fucking. 

Another development has also been the casual hanging out that takes place after they’ve fooled around. Sometimes, Billy doesn’t immediately take off after he’s had Steve’s dick in mouth or vice versa. Sometimes, he sticks around. Not to say that he still doesn’t take off the other half the time. 

Those are the times when he rushes into Steve’s house, barely letting Steve say hello before he’s shoving him against the nearest wall, hands down his pants and whispering the filthiest things in his ear. Times when he’s usually also covered in bruises. When his words punch a little more bite than usual. His eyes have a glassy, near vacant look but Steve goes along with it anyway. 

Billy had let it slip during one of the first times he stayed after sex that his dad was the reason for the bruises along his face. Steve had been so angry then. Even though it wasn’t that surprising that Billy’s dad was a real asshole with the way Billy acted. But still. 

Billy had laughed at the anger on his face, grasping Steve’s chin in his hand. “Don’t worry about it, pretty boy,” he said before bringing their lips together. 

Tonight, there’s no new bruises Steve can see along Billy’s body. Only a few fading ones Steve’s already seen. 

Steve use to try to kiss those areas when Billy would come over, pissed and horny, but Billy would always bark at him, never wanting to be touched where Neil had hit him. 

“Got any beer?” Billy asks. Steve snatches his underwear off the floor, tugging them back on as he walks towards the kitchen. He comes back with chips and beer, already knowing Billy’s appetite after sex. 

“Thanks, pretty boy.”

These days the many nicknames Billy has for Steve don’t irritate him like they used to. The fact bothers Steve to some degree but he’s decided not to dwell on it. 

“How’s the pool?” Steve asks.

“Hot and wet,” Billy grins. Steve rolls his eyes as he waits for a real answer. “Same bratty kids and horny moms every day.”

“Horny moms?”

“Yeah,” Billy says. “I’m a hot piece of ass, Harrington. Everyone wants a piece.”

Steve scoffs. Billy laughs in the genuine, careless way that Steve always wants to hear more of. “You planning on seducing some helpless housewife?” Steve asks, attempting to joke but it comes out as a serious question instead. Billy levels a look at him. “Why? You afraid some cougar gonna’s take all my attention away from you, princess?” 

“No,” Steve balks at the accusation, face reddening. “I’m just curious if - if you would actually, you know, do anything.”

“Don’t worry, princess, I’ll let you know if I decide to take up any of those MILFS on their offer.”

“Good to know,” Steve says. Billy grins before reaching over to touch Steve through his boxers. “I still got a few hours before I gotta go home,” Billy murmurs into Steve’s ear. “Why don’t you put that mouth of yours to good use.” Steve quickly forgets about the conversation after that.

***

“Dingus, you have a guest!” Robin calls from the front. Steve is sitting in the back, flipping through an X-Men comic book Will had loaned him a few days ago. He rolls his eyes at the interruption. When he sluggishly makes his way to the front, he’s surprised to find Nancy and Jonathan. He’s seen both Nancy and Jonathan a handful of times since he graduated, all in passing and very brief. 

“Hey, guys,” Steve says. “You want some ice cream?”

“No, that’s okay,” Jonathan says. Steve can’t help but notice the way Nancy clings to his arm with her own, melded into each other’s sides. He opts to focus on Jonathan’s face. “My mom is having a barbeque this weekend. She’s inviting everyone and wanted to know if you wanted to come?”

“Everyone like…”

“Yeah,” Jonathan answers, understanding the silent question at the end of Steve’s sentence. “Hopper, the kids. Nancy and me, obviously.”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll be there. The kids will probably make me drive them there anyway.” 

Nancy and Jonathan laugh, thinking Steve’s joking. Silence hang between for a few seconds until Nancy tells him how good it is to see him before they both turn away with a wave. Steve tries not to feel too he feels bummed out about the interaction. 

“God, that was uncomfortable to watch.”

Steve turns around to face Robin sitting on the opposite counter. “Why are you watching me then?”

“There’s nothing else to do. I forgot my book at home.” Robin’s eyes raise at something behind Steve. “Heads up behind you, dingus.”

Billy still rings the bell several times even though Steve is in the process of turning around. “Hey, Harrington,” he grins.

“Hargrove.” Steve says. “What do you want?”

“Gee, I wonder what I could possibly want in an ice cream shop.”

Steve scowls. “Just tell me what flavor you want, asshole.”

Billy smirks at Steve, leaning forward across the counter on his hands. “Strawberry with cherries on top.” His tongue peaks out between his teeth. “Please.”

Steve quickly rings up the ice cream, taking Billy’s buck fifty with obvious annoyance. Billy smirks at him before walking away. Steve watches as he walks towards one of the Employee Only exit doors, no one paying any attention to him. 

“I’m gonna go get more ice cream from the stockroom,” Steve says.

“Pretty sure we’re all stocked up, Steve.” 

“We could always use more.”

***

Billy’s already waiting for Steve in the cold storage him and Robin always leave unlocked. The door isn’t even closed all the way behind Steve when Billy’s hands tangle themselves in his uniform. “You make a cute sailor, Stevie,” Billy says into his hair. “I like the hat.”

“Shut up,” Steve grunts into his neck. Which smells of chlorine and cigarettes. 

“I mean it, Harrington,” Billy says. Hands sliding down to grasp Steve’s ass. “You look real hot in your uniform.” 

Steve presses Billy into a shelf of vanilla ice cream in response, unbuttoning the remaining three buttons on the tight shirt he’s wearing. His hands press against Billy’s abs, feeling the solid muscle and hot skin. Billy quickly switches them around. 

S teve’s the one with his back pressed against the tubs of ice cream as Billy sinks to the floor, hastily undoing Steve’s shorts. Steve grips a handful of Billy’s curls in anticipatio n. “God, you’re so fuckin hot, Harrington,” he hears Billy curse below him. He still can’t believe how good it feels when Billy puts his lips around him. He thrusts ever so slightly into Billy’s mouth, causing Billy to intensify his movements.

“Fuck, Billy.”

Steve tightens his grip on Billy’s hair. He earns a filthy moan in response. “Jesus Christ.”

Like usual, it’s only a few more seconds before Steve finishes into Billy’s mouth. It’s embarrassing how out of breath he is as Billy stands up, his usual smirk affixed across his face. 

“Gotta go, princess,” Billy says. “Only got ten more minutes on my lunch break.” He brings his hand up to grip Steve’s chin. His lips plant one last rough kiss against Steve’s mouth, his tongue slipping past his lips to tangle with Steve’s briefly before he pulls away. “I’ll see your pretty little mouth later, Harrington,” Billy says, not bothering to look back as he walks out of the stockroom.

***

Like Billy promised, Steve does see him later that night. He comes over a little after midnight, not even bothering to wait for Steve to open the door after he knocks. He knows Steve leaves it unlocked for him anyway. 

He barely greets Steve before dragging him to his bedroom, only stopping to make out and tear each other’s clothes off along the way. By the time they get to his bed, both are fully naked. 

Steve straddles Billy. The latter grins ups mischievously at Steve, hands perched on his hips. Steve reaches to open his bedside table, grabbing the bottle of lube he bought recently at Billy’s suggestion. He spreads it along himself and Billy who watches his movements with hooded eyes. 

“Ready, princess?” Billy smirks up at him.

“Just shut up and fuck me.”

Billy laughs but does as he’s told. 

***

With the sheets pooled around their feet, they take a smoke break in between rounds as they lay naked in Steve’s bed. Steve is too busy admiring the marks he left on Billy’s abs to notice Billy’s staring at him until he feels the stare heavy against the side of his face. 

“What?” He asks defensively. Billy shrugs, looking away. “What was up with Wheeler and Byers at your job today?”

Steve raises his eyebrows. “You saw them?”

“I just saw Wheeler and her boyfriend on their way out.”

“Uh, nothing happened, they just invited me to a barbeque at Jonathan’s house. Just a little get together with the kids, Ms. Byers, Jonathan and Nancy. Nothing too crazy.”

Billy doesn’t say anything for a bit, taking a few drags of his cigarette and seeming to mull over his words. “You still heartbroken over Wheeler, huh?”

“What? No, I don’t - I don’t even - I’m happy for them. Honestly. Her and Jonathan are good together.”

Billy laughs quietly. “Liar.”

“I’m not- I don’t even-” Billy decides to ignore him and straddle Steve instead. He stops Steve’s stuttering but shoving his knee between Steve’s thighs and grinding their hips together. “Ah, shit,” Steve curses. After a little more grinding and some lube, Billy slides into Steve with ease. “Fuck, Billy,” Steve moans. 

Billy rests his forehead against against Steve’s shoulder, breath heavy against his neck. 

“You like that, baby?”

“God, yeah.”

“You feel so fucking good,” Billy grunts into his neck. “So fuckin good.”

Billy’s hold tightens on his hips as he slams into Steve. “You like how I fuck you?”

Steve moans beneath him, nodding his head at whatever sweet dirty words Billy bites into his skin. “Yeah, Billy.”

“Do I fuck better than her?”

It takes Steve a few seconds to process the question. “Huh?” he asks breathlessly as Billy maintains his thrusts. 

“Do I fuck better than Wheeler?” Billy asks. He picks up the pace of his hips. Bites down lightly at his neck. Steve moans unintelligibly. His nails dig into the skin of Billy’s back, curling a leg around the crook of his knee.

“Do I, Stevie?”

“Jesus Christ, Billy.”

“Ya gonna answer me, pretty boy?”

Billy reaches a hand down between them to jerk Steve. He’s tongueing the numerous bruises Steve knows he’s has left along his neck and shoulder. “Do I fuck better than her, Stevie?”

Steve doesn’t think he’s ever felt this wound up. This tortuously balanced at the edge of pleasure, ready to fall off into the deep end. 

“Come on, baby.”

“Fuck, yeah, Billy,” Steve moans. 

“Yeah, what, baby?”

“You fuck better than her,” Steve spits out, the words tight through his teeth as he feels himself falling off the edge. Steve’s orgasm quickly takes a hold of his body. His muscles and joints trembling into a long release of tension, a sensation he absolutely drowns in as he feels Billy soon follow. 

“Damn right, I do,” Steve hears Billy mutter beside him. 

***

The barbeque at the Byers’ house is nice if not a little dull without Dustin constantly bugging him about something or other. It’s been pretty quiet without him around which bums him out. Honestly, he misses the nerd. He can’t wait for him to come back from science camp, to pester him every day with perpetual talk of one his inventions or an unsolicited opinion on all the pop culture Steve isn’t privy too. 

The other kids are cool too when they’re not jumping headfirst into mortal danger. Especially Will, Steve’s second favorite below Dustin since he doesn’t talk much. Meaning he’s the least annoying of the group. Plus, he loans Steve comics from his own collection since he found out Steve never really read them before. It’s mainly been a lot of X-men and a few Superman comics. 

“So you like them?” Will asks as they sit at the fold-out table Hopper and Joyce assembled in the backyard. Mike and El are watching Max chase Lucas around with a spider. Nancy and Jonathan are eating hamburgers near where Hopper and Joyce are manning the grill and food table. 

“Yeah, they’re great,” Steve says. “I really like um, what’s his name? Wolverine. And that one comic you gave me.” Steve pauses, snapping his fingers to try and conjure up the name. “The one about the redhead that goes crazy and kills everyone.”

“Dark Phoenix?”

“Yeah, that one was cool.”

“Yeah, that’s one of my favorites.”

They continue to talk about comics and movies, mainly Will’s thoughts on them. Steve gets the impression he doesn’t get to talk about himself much. In fact, Steve’s pretty sure this is the most he’s ever heard Will talk ever. So he keeps asking him what he likes or dislikes about this or that just to keep him talking, guiding the conversation a little since Will is still a bit timid. 

There’s a lull in conversation after they return to the table from getting burgers. It’s not uncomfortable so Steve doesn’t press for any more conversation. Not until he notices Will staring over where Mike and El are standing, holding hands and gazing at each other in the quiet way couples do. Will frowns. And Steve can understand the feeling. Especially with Jonathan and Nancy in the same position in the corner closest to the back door.

“Couples, amirite?” Steve says.

Will laughs weakly. “Right.”

Steve then notices that him and Will are actually the only people at the barbeque not part of a couple (assuming Lucas and Max are in the on stage of their on again off again relationship). 

“Don’t worry, you won’t be single forever,” Steve says. “In fact, you’re probably too young to even date.”

“I don’t wanna date,” Will says. “Relationships are dumb. I’m tired of talking about girls.”

“Boy, do I feel ‘ya,” Steve says. 

“All Mike and Lucas ever do is talk about girls or hang out with their girlfriends. We barely ever play DnD anymore.”

“Ah, man,” Steve says. “That’s not cool.”

“It’s annoying.”

“Well, hey, it’s just a phase. All guys get like that at some point. All they can think about is girls, how they look, smell, whatever, and then they act stupid and do stupid things and embarrass themselves. That’s basically what high school is.”

“I’m not obsessed with girls.”

“Yeah, well, you’re lucky then. You’ll be one of the smart ones who actually focuses on important stuff.”

“Like what?”

“Uh, school, I guess? Getting good grades, being a good person? I don’t know, these are things I wish I did in high school.”

“You were popular though.”

“Yeah, well, popularity isn’t worth shit if all your friends are shitty people. And it definitely doesn’t mean anything in the real world.”

Will just looks at him, seemingly contemplating his words. The conversation doesn’t continue when Joyce announces it’s time to put everything away a second later. Everyone rises to help wrap food and put away chairs. Steve helps Joyce stuff all of the food in the fridge before rounding up all the kids who need a ride home. Which turns out to only be Mike and Lucas since Billy’s Camaro is already out front as they file out of the house. 

For some reason, the sight makes his heart race ever so slightly. The car is close enough so Steve can clearly see Billy in the driver’s seat. He meets Steve’s eyes through the window shield. Billy gives him the faintest of nods as Max slides into the passenger seat before speeding off. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dustin comes back. Robin, Steve and him start working to crack the code. Steve misses Billy. It all blows up in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this the best I could while hurrying to publish because I was really eager to post it and be done with it already. It's very short, I just wanted to get past all the violent action with the Mind Flayer and get to the part after already so here's the result of that.

The day Robin calls Steve to the front counter to see Dustin is back from camp is the highlight of his week. And, of course, when he starts theorizing about evil Russians and American heroes, Steve falls into the wormhole of conspiracy theories and code-cracking. Especially when Robin gets involved. Unsurprisingly, with nothing else to do, she’s totally up for helping them figure out what is being on the tape. They spend days going over it, pausing and repeating the audiotape over and over again. Steve barely even notices it’s been a while since Billy last visited him at work. Or at all. 

Sometimes, he catches himself remembering the feeling of Billy’s lips against his neck. Or the grip of his hand on along his body. He gets red in the face during these thoughts. Tightness spreading from his stomach until Robin or Dustin yell at him to focus on letters and sounds he doesn’t understand. He loses himself in a foreign alphabet instead.

***

In between hours of attempted code cracking and unsuccessful sleuthing, Dustin has an endless supply of stories from camp that he regales Steve with. He also spews random facts about his “girlfriend”, Suzie. He and Robin share knowing looks whenever she comes up. Steve doesn’t necessarily think she’s fake but, come on, hotter than Phoebe Cates? Robin agrees. 

***

One day Steve and Robin are both off from work incidentally. The freezer at Scoops Ahoy is reportedly undergoing some repairs. The shop is closed for the day. Dustin and Robin decide to hijack Steve’s house as a study base. “Finally, a chance to see the infamous Harrington residence,” Robin had teased.

At his house, Robin does take her time studying each room. She asks to see his room and he lets her venture up there by herself. He stays in the kitchen with Dustin, not to keen to let him raid his fridge without supervision. 

“Some nice digs you got here, Harrington,” Robin says when she returns. “Where are your parents?”

“Steve’s parents are never home. It’s pretty awesome,” Dustin says.

"Where are they?" Robin asks.

"Ah, I think my dad is in Indianapolis and my mom is in New York, last time they called. Which has been a while so they could honestly be in Europe for all I know."

Steve doesn't mean for it to come out like a plea for attention to lament the fact his parents are almost completely absent from his life. It’s not like he has it bad, he’s rich and he knows that. But Robin has a look on her face that can only be described as poorly concealed pity. But also paired with a hint of understanding that makes Steve feel better about the pity. 

"So let's get going on this impossible plan to infiltrate the Russians evil lair," Steve says. "Henderson, where's the- what did I say about the orange juice, dude?!"

***

They take periodic swim and tv breaks throughout the day. Mainly Robin and Steve just watch Dustin swim and go back and forth between sitting on the patio chairs and the living room couch. Steve listens to Robin complain about band geeks and upcoming "mandatory sentimental senior year crap" that she couldn't care less about. Robin listens to Steve complain about how he's stuck working a minimum wage mall job because he barely passed his senior year, the lack of bright prospects in his future and how the only thing that gives him joy in his life at the moment is babysitting fourteen years olds. They’re sitting on Steve’s couch while listening to Dustin splash around in the backyard

"Wow”, Robin says, “you really are a loser.”

"Gee, thanks. Really know how to kick a guy when he's down."

"It's not a bad thing, trust me. To be a loser is freeing."

"Freeing?"

"Yeah, totally.”

She turns on her knees to face Steve on the couch. “Think of it like this. If you’re a loser, no one cares what you do. They expect the least from you or just don’t care so you can basically do anything.”

“That is a good point.”

“I don’t think your situation is that dire, yet, Harrington.”

“No, no, I’m pretty sure whatever cool I had accumulated in high school has completely died. I didn’t do much to keep my “crown” or whatever. I basically handed it over to Billy Hargrove and then ended up getting a shitty, minimum wage mall job where I have to dress up in a geeky sailor costume every day.”

“Could be worse,” Robin says. “You could still be in high school as a band geek.”

“Yeah, but you’re cool though.”

“ _ I  _ know I’m cool. It’s the whole rest of Hawkins high apart from the other band geeks and some burnouts that haven’t gotten the memo. But it’s fine. I don’t really care what those assholes think of me.”

At that moment, Dustin comes in dripping from the backyard. “Are you guys ready to work on the mission again?”

“Please, can you put a towel on? I’ve told you this so many times,” Steve says. “You’re dripping water everywhere, dude.”

They finally decide to call it quits at six p.m. when Dustin has to be home for dinner. Mrs. Henderson invites both Robin and Steve inside for dinner but Robin has to be home for dinner herself and Steve is becoming increasingly preoccupied with Billy. Namely, the growing desire to see him again. It’s making Steve sick even though he repeatedly denies the intrusive thought that he  _ misses  _ that asshole. It’s barely been a week since the last time Billy came over.

When he gets home, he makes himself a peanut and jelly sandwich and watches reruns of Family Ties to put off going to sleep. When he actually crawls into bed, the lack of another person’s body heat makes Billy’s absence even more apparent. Steve does his best to ignore the sickness he feels spreading from his chest. 

***

When he finally see Billy again, Steve’s heart jumps at the first sight of familiar, blonde curls at the center of the food court. But his face just as quickly falls in concern when all of Billy comes into view. 

It’s not that Billy looks particularly awful. He still looks unfairly and devastatingly attractive in ripped jeans and a black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. But his eyes were bloodshot in a way Steve hadn’t seen in a long time. His face looked tired but also vacant. As if he weren’t there. To the average person, it might just look like Billy underslept or had the flu but to a person who spent a lot of time pressing that same face against their own, studying it when he was sure Billy wasn’t looking, he knew something was up. 

“Hey, pretty boy,” Billy says, sliding up to the counter of Scoops Ahoy, leaning a little closer than necessary into Steve’s space like he always did. Billy sends Steve a smirk but it falls a little flatter than usual, his voice weak and low. 

“Hey,” Steve says. “Are you okay, man?”

Billy grins up at Steve. But something in it isn’t right. It makes Steve nervous in the way all his old interactions with Billy, pre-blow job, use to make him nervous. “Never been better,” Billy says. “How’s your bed been without me in it?”

Steve’s face flushes. He glances around to make sure Dustin or Robin can’t hear or see him from the back. “Can you meet in the back in ten?” Steve asks, leaning forward as well. He hates how the smell of chlorine and sweat wafting off of Billy simultaneously makes his dick and heartache. 

“Can’t, have to be back at the pool in fifteen minutes.”

“Well, what’s up? Did something happen? Is it your dad?”

“Nothing happened, Harrington. I’m just a little tired is all. Pretty sure I have a fever or something.”

Steve doesn’t believe him for one second but knows if he pushes Billy will just fight him. “Well, do you need anything? I can try to get off early and make some soup or -”

“No, come down, Harrington. You’re acting like a chick.”

“Well, shit, I haven’t seen or heard from you in like weeks so excuse me for wondering where you’ve been.”

“Why? You’ve been missing me, Harrington?” Billy asks. 

“No, ‘course not.”

“I don’t need a nurse but I wouldn’t mind you in a little outfit, trying to make me feel all better.”

A wave of heat washes over Steve’s face.

“How bout you dress up for me sometime?” Billy asks.

“Fuck off, Hargrove,” he mutters. Billy still pokes his tongue in between his teeth, running it along his lip in a way he knows drives Steve crazy. Steve knows they’re in public but even thinking about leaning forward the tiniest bit or dragging him to the storage room- 

“Steve, we got the first sentence!” Dustin from the back. Billy grins at him, leaning back out of his space. 

“I’ll see you later, pretty boy.”

  
  


***

When they finally crack the code, they start drafting a plan to break into whatever is behind the door the evil Russians with guns are guarding. It takes them a few days before they finally have some semblance of a plan. At some point in the initial brainstorming, Steve realizes how long its been since he last saw Billy. And even longer since they last hung out. He knows it’s not that long to go without seeing somebody but his last interaction with Billy barely counted as an interaction at all. After taking Dustin home one night, Steve decides to drive by the pool. 

Of course, Billy isn’t there and the pool has been closed for hours. Steve turns to drive towards the quarry. 

Billy and Steve have never talked on the phone. They’ve never called each other. Steve is positive Billy wouldn’t take too kindly to Steve calling his house, especially if his dad ended up answering the phone. 

Steve thinks about the last time Billy came to visit him at Scoops Ahoy. He almost smacks himself in the face for not pushing to meet up again. He can’t really contact Billy. There’s no way he can go around to Billy’s house. Asking Max to pass on a message is definitely out of the question. No one even knows they’ve been hanging out. Steve’s fucked and he knows it. But still, it doesn’t stop him from driving to Billy’s and idling out on the street. He doesn’t even know if Billy’s inside but he’s pretty sure. And the thought of Billy only being twenty or so feet away from him, without Steve able to contact him at all, makes his stomach curl. He continues driving down the street, so many what-ifs in his head. 

***

Getting Erica to agree to climb into the vents kicks Dustin, Robin, and Steve into action, all three giddy that their plan is coming together. Getting stuck in the large, mysterious elevator was not something they planned for though. Steve is quickly losing his mind, thinking of possible ways they could escape. Robin is busy arguing with Erica. 

When the elevators do finally move, it’s relief and fear that course through Steve’s veins, not knowing what they’re gonna find once the doors open.

***

The drugs injected into Steve’s neck numb the pain radiating from the rest of his head. Mainly, his face. He’s grateful Robin tried to save him. Even grateful for the fear in her voice as she calls out for him. He tries his best to respond. It’s depressing but he hasn’t felt that kind of care from someone in a long time. That level of concern and fear for another person’s well-being. His own, specifically. He can’t help but laugh. So many things are suddenly hilarious. Especially his situation with Billy. Oh, he hasn’t thought about Billy in a while and it makes his heart hurt in a way he doesn’t understand. He’s so loopy. The world is spinning and he’s trying to pay attention to Robin's voice but all he can think is  _ Billy Billy Billy _ . 

***

Steve’s not really sure how the kids rescue them but he knows that they do. And that they’re in an elevator and then sitting in a movie theater in what feels like seconds. Time has become fluid. Steve’s confused as to why Alex P. Keaton is trying to fuck his mom in this movie but still. He and Robin can’t stop laughing. 

Out in the lobby, the ceiling reminds Steve of a Van Gogh painting Nancy showed him once. Except all the colors are spinning and breathing. It makes Steve nauseous and Robin must feel it too because they both sprint into the lady’s bathroom.

After vomiting, Steve feels the world becoming a little clearer.

Through his haze, he tries to tell Robin how much she means to him. How cool she is. How much better she deserved in high school because Steve was an asshole. He knows that. He’s always known that. He’s not sure he’s ever had a real friend, apart from Henderson. Someone who hung out with him not out of social obligation or in some vague hope of being popular by association. 

Someone who hung out with him just for the sake of hanging out with him. Someone who made him feel listened to. He thinks of Billy again. Billy who only hangs out with him in secret. No one else knowing that Steve knows exactly how Billy looks like sleeping on the left side of his bed. That he likes to smoke after sex and watch Family Ties with Steve. That he likes Fleetwood Mac even though he talks shit about anything that isn’t heavy metal. What he likes to do in bed. That he cried one time after sex and wouldn’t tell Steve why. There’s a collection of things Steve knows about Billy that he keeps to himself like a hoard of treasures. He’d been listing them off in his head periodically throughout the night. He keeps getting distracted though. 

Especially right now as Robin is trying to tell him something. She talks about Tammy Thompson in a way Steve doesn’t understand. He feels like he’s missing something. Until it finally clicks. 

“ _ Oh, _ ” Steve says. Robin is staring at him, waiting. He can only think to talk about how Tammy Thompson can’t hold a tune. How Robin is definitely out of her league. Robin laughs at that. It sounds almost like a cry of relief. Steve thinks he should maybe tell her about Billy. About hanging out with him. Kissing him. Maybe even about the stockroom. But Steve thinks it isn’t really the same thing. Robin is revealing a secret, a part of herself that feels heavy and important in the tiny bathroom stall. Steve is just messing around with his (former?) high school nemesis. It’s not the same thing. He smiles and laughs with her instead, trying to feel as light as their words sound. It works almost until Dustin and Erica burst into the bathroom.

***

When the Russians find them again, Steve can’t believe his luck. He’s going to die without fucking Billy again. Without kissing him. And the thought fills Steve with a level of sadness he isn’t prepared for.

But all that is forgotten when a car flies through the air to smash the men with guns out of nowhere. El and all the other kids are here with Nancy and Jonathan. Steve gets caught up in the flurry of activity and introduction. He tries to focus on everything that’s being said but can only latch onto the parts about Billy. That’s he’s possessed. Sick. Evil now. The Mind Flayer has him like he had Will. And his heart stops for a second. He wants to say they’re wrong but he knows, he feels it in his gut, that they’re not. 

He doesn’t have much time to think about what to do about Billy when El falls to the ground in pain. 

***

The plan is simple until screams and the obvious roar and crash of a monster are heard over Dustin’s radio. He and Robin jump in the car to go back after yelling at Dustin and Erica to stay put. He’s running on pure adrenaline as he grips the steering wheel. He can’t believe it when he sees Billy revving his engine a few yards away from where Nancy and Jonathan are trying to get the car full of kids to start. He doesn’t even think about it really as he slams into Billy. Right into the side of the Camaro. He can’t. He just does and tries to remember it’s the Mind Flayer. Not Billy. Billy wouldn’t do that. 

***

Inside the mall, Steve and everyone else has a clear mission. Everyone has a bag loaded with fireworks Lucas stole from the grocery store. Everyone was told to aim and throw the best they could. So that’s what he does. The Mind Flayer is stomping around in front of him. But it’s surrounded. 

Steve thinks maybe they can beat it. He can’t think about Billy. Not his body being used by a monster a floor below them. Not when that monster is enormous and alive and screaming in front of them. He knows Joyce and Hopper and the weird bald guy are handling the gate below. He knows everything is dependent on closing the gate. That everyone above ground is just waiting for them. He tries not to focus on the waiting and only on aiming where he thinks it’ll hurt most. 

Only when he sees glimpses of El and Steve on the ground does he stop. 

***

Steve sees Billy stand in front of El. His breath stops when he sees Billy stop the tentacle like it’s nothing. It only takes seeing one tentacle strike Billy in the abdomen before Steve thinks _fuck it_ and runs to the broken escalator. He sees El sitting next to him, his head in her lap. The monster has collapsed to the floor, unmoving. There’s a pool of blood and black goo spreading from Billy. He tries to run all the way to them when a dozen men in all black with guns and helmets storm into the courtyard. Several of them flock to Billy’s body. A few swarm towards Steve as well. They sweep both of them up so fast Steve doesn’t even have the chance to fight his way towards Billy.

***

Later, after the ambulances and fire trucks and helicopters, after the men and women who ask them all the same questions, Robin and Steve get to share a hospital room. They both demanded it. 

“You okay, dingus?”

“Yeah, you?”

“I’m alive.”

Robin is bundled up in a hospital gown, under observation with just a few scratches and bruises along her body and still waiting for the drugs to completely exit her system. Steve’s arm is in a sling because, apparently, it’s sprained. The drugs must’ve numbed more than he realized. They had bandaged his lip and eye. Told him he had a concussion and was gonna be staying for a little while. They both were. Steve didn’t expect anything less.

“I’m glad you’re alive,” Steve says.

“Ditto.”

Steve didn’t know who to ask about Billy. Or who to ask about anything at all. All he knew was that his whole body was killing him and he might’ve seen Billy die. Steve keeps seeing him bleeding out on the floor, his head in El’s hands before men with guns surround them. Billy dying over and over again. Lying in the hospital bed, his eyes burn at the thought. He digs his nails into his palm, trying not to scream. All he can think is  _ please don’t be dead please don’t be dead please _ -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment if you liked it or, you know, just let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month after. Everyone's mostly fine. Steve is a spaz. Billy is tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter, I apologize. I'm at work and very tired and just started outlining this more. Good news is I'm actually excited for where this is going. But, again, I'm very tired so my editing skills are lacking. Sorry for any typos and clunky writing.

It’s been a month since The Mind Flayer wreaked havoc on Hawkins. Steve and Robin have been working at Family Video for two weeks now. And Steve, honestly, doesn’t hate it. At least not as much as he hated working at Scoops Ahoy. There’s no goofy uniform. Just a singular name tag that Steve keeps misplacing. 

Will comes by a lot when he isn’t with the rest of the gang. Which happens to be a lot more often since all the couples in his friend group seemed to have gotten back together. Which Will hates. Dustin comes with him sometimes. When he’s not trying to contact Suzie through Cerebro. Steve doesn’t go by the Byers house as much as he used to so Will comes to him more often than not.

Robin gives him endless movie recommendations since she says Steve “has no taste” in contrast to her “exquisite, fan-fucking-tastic taste”. So far, that taste has been made up consistently of horror films and weird, indie flicks Steve has never heard of. Will always rents whatever Robin tells him to though. In exchange, Will gives Steve mixtapes of music Will insists “will change your life.” A lot of it is stuff Steve wouldn’t necessarily listen to on his own. It’s been a lot of The Cure, The Smiths, The Clash and a few Fleetwood Mac songs that Steve already knows. 

Most days have been like that during the remaining days of summer. Will comes in, mixtape in hand, and they pop it into the speaker system that’s set up along the whole store. Robin and him talk about all the nerdy shit they have in common. Apparently, they’ve read the same comic books and regular books and are both intent on trying to get Steve to read them as well. He usually does since he has nothing else to do when he’s not working or hanging out with Robin. 

The month since The Mall incident has been a slow yet quick one. Recovery has meant most of what’s left of summer has been spent taking it easy, as per doctor's orders. It’s now the middle of August. Will is talking animatedly at the counter with Robin. Steve is stacking returned movies onto a cart next to them when the song ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ comes on. Robin starts to sing along louder than necessary since they’re in public. Granted, there’s no one else in the store but them but still. Will laughs before joining her at a lower volume. Steve starts humming along lightly. The songs catchy and he actually likes The Cure. He likes most of the music Will puts on his mixtapes. 

As he’s humming and stacking tapes, Steve hears the rumble of an engine pulling into the parking lot. 

He looks up through the glass windows surrounding the front of the store and sees the reason he’s been avoiding the Byers house. Billy is sitting behind the wheel of his Camaro, the car back to its original glory before Steve T-boned it. He’s having a conversation Steve can’t hear with Max in the passenger seat. She slides out of the car, followed by El who slide out of the back seat. They both wave goodbye to him and he waves back weakly. He drives off without another look towards the store. 

After The Mall (How Robin and Steve refer to the events that occurred the night they killed the Mind Flayer), Billy moved in with the Byers. Steve’s not exactly sure what happened and how Billy managed to move in without his dad interfering but there didn’t seem to be any trouble. It probably helped that Hopper was still chief and was over there more often than not. Billy had been sleeping on their couch and not really saying anything, according to Will. The only people Billy seemed to hang out with anymore were Max and El. Everyone else still didn’t seem to trust him or just didn’t know how to act around him. Steve was in the same boat. 

He’d been avoiding seeing Billy ever since he got discharged from the hospital. Ms. Byers had been the one to let it slip in the hospital that Billy had survived after a few days of being admitted. Steve’s parents weren’t allowed to know what happened. No one was. Not anyone who wasn’t there. The whole town was sold a story of a big fire that took down the whole mall, the work of Russians trying to test faulty weapons in secret in Indiana. 

His parents weren’t allowed to come see him. And even if they were, Steve was sure they wouldn’t have come anyway. So Ms. Byers had been acting as a stand-in since no family had come to see him, sitting with him for hours at a time, keeping him updated on what was going on out in the real world. 

When he learned that Billy had survived (he’d been too afraid to ask any of the government officials who came in and out of his room every day), he cried. Ms. Byers hadn’t asked why. She only grasped his hand in her own and squeezed, letting him cry in silence.

He had cried and continued to cry periodically since then out of relief and guilt. An incredible, chest crushing amount of guilt at how he had noticed something was wrong with Billy and did nothing. He let him suffer worse than he ever deserved to and Steve would never know what would have happened if he had pushed Billy to hang out with him, if Steve had paid attention a little more. It was all he thought about most nights when he couldn’t sleep.

The doctors at the hospital had prescribed him some sleeping pills for the anxiety and the nightmares that kept him up. Most nightmares were of Billy dying. Having to see him bleed to death over and over again. It seemed like a fitting punishment for having failed Billy. It made Steve sick that no one saw how bad it had gotten. And even worse, Steve had thought they were close to becoming friends or something like it before everything went to shit. 

Steve couldn’t bear to look at him without feeling absolute, bone-crushing guilt. So he tried not to. He was sure Billy didn’t want to see him anyway. Since he wasn’t speaking, according to Will, everyone was pretty much just leaving Billy alone except for Max and El.

When El and Max enter the store, Robin doesn’t stop singing. She continues as if it were still just Steve and Will in the store. She merely nods her head at them. They return the nod with a little giggle before walking up to Steve. 

“Ladies, what can I help you with?” Steve asks. 

“Do you guys have Halloween?” Max asks. 

“Halloween? Like the scary movie with the-” Steve makes a knife cutting through the air gesture. 

“Yeah.”

“Aren’t you guys a little young for that?”

“Steve, stop being a grandpa,” Robin says, “Aisle 5, very beginning of the letter H.” The girls head towards where Robin is pointing. 

“You really should stop acting like you’re sixty three,” she says. “You’re aging quick enough as it is.”

Steve smiles sarcastically before flipping her off.

***

Max and El come back a few days later. This time with Billy in tow. Steve is in no way prepared to see him in the flesh. Luckily, he’s on stock duty so he has two shelves of movies in between him and Billy as the girls take off to find a specific movie and Billy wanders a few aisles away from Steve. 

Like a stalker, Steve studies Billy through the slits in between the tapes. He’s only seen Billy in passing a handful of times since they were all in the hospital. All of those instances have been at a distance without Billy having seen Steve himself. 

His mass and muscles still seem to be there, from what Steve can see, but his face looks gaunt. 

All the life and casual attitude Billy used to carry with him seems to be gone. His whole face seems to be lacking any emotion. Before, when his chest and hips would expand out, thoughtless in taking up space, Billy seems to shrink into himself. His shoulders hunch inwards and his face is permanently angled towards the floor. Steve is sure he has a multitude of scars underneath the sweater he’s wearing. He can’t imagine what the recovery from all those teeth was like. Or how much pain Billy must’ve been in.

“Hey, Harrington,” Robin calls. Steve’s head snaps up towards her voice and ends up connecting with the shelf above his head. A loud bang erupts through the store along with the sound of a few VHS tapes clattering to the ground. Quickly, he bends down to pick them up. The illusion of stealth was definitely gone. 

“Harrington?”

Of course, a voice he knows almost better than his own calls his name just a few feet away from him. Steve lifts his head up. His eyes trail up familiar boots and ripped jeans to find Billy staring down at him. His face doesn’t hold much emotion. Only the vaguest hint of confusion. 

Steve springs up. “H-hey, Hargrove,” Steve says, a touch too loudly. He coughs to cover it up before lowering his voice to a normal, indoor level. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Billy says, no trace of anything in his voice indicating whether Steve should keep talking or not. But he’s already come this far, might as well keep going. Steve takes a few steps forward. He pretends not to notice Billy lean away the slightest bit.

“Hey, look, um, I, uh,” Steve coughs again. “I wanted to say I’m, uh, - I’m sorry-” 

“It’s okay,” Billy says, cutting Steve off. 

“What?” Steve asks, “No, I-”

“It’s okay, Steve,” Billy says, a little louder. His voice has the slightest hint of forcefulness behind it. Steve is mainly caught off guard by the sound of his name leaving Billy’s mouth. Steve is sure Billy’s never called him by his actual name before. “I gotta go,” Billy says.    
  


“What? But I-” Steve starts but Billy’s already turning around and taking off down the aisle. The front door swings closed behind him. El and Max are still across the store, Steve notices, looking over in his direction. He watches Billy slide into his car. Before he can embarrass himself further, he sulks over towards the counter where Robin has also been watching the interaction. 

“What the hell was that?” Robin asks. Steve lets his head drop to the counter and groans in response. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t speak dingus. Wanna try again?”

Steve can’t handle himself and his usual dumb ass behavior. The torture of existence is enough without having to tell his best friend that he use to blow the guy who fucked his way through the cheer squad and once pissed on a substitute teacher’s car for taking away his lighter. But Steve knew he owed it to Robin to trust her like she trusted him with her secret. Even though his was way more mortifying. 

It didn’t matter that Billy probably wasn’t that much of an asshole anymore. Not even that he had saved El. He still definitely use to be king of the assholes and most people didn’t see much of him beyond that.

Steve stands up abruptly, turning around to face a wide-eyed Robin. “Okay, look,” he says, “you can’t tell anyone ever. This never leaves Family Video.”

“Okay, yeah. What is it?”

“Promise.”

“Okay, I  _ promise _ . What is it?”

Steve clasps his hands together in front of his face, psyching himself up to tell Robin. Who would be the only other person in the world to know besides Billy and himself. 

“Okay, so you know that thing you told me in the bathroom at the mall the night we-”

“Yes, Steve, I remember. Kind of a hard thing to forget.”

“Well, okay, the thing is… A few months ago...back in June, there was a party.”

“A party?”

“Yes, a party and Billy was there.”

“Billy Hargrove?”

“Yes, the one who was just here.”

“Okay. Keep going.”

“Billy was there and so was I, obviously, and he found me out in the woods and we, uh, well he, uh, he, you know…”

“Steve, I’m gonna need you to use your big boy words. I can’t read minds.”

Steve glances around to double-check there’s no one else in the store. “He kissed me,” Steve whispers. 

“Ha. I knew it,” Robin exclaims, looking the happiest Steve has ever seen her. 

“You knew what?”

“That guy totally wasn’t all the way straight. There was something about him. Had to be a little gay.”

“I mean, yeah, he kissed me, so.”

“That’s all he did? He kissed you.”

“Well, we also did other stuff…”

“What other stuff?”

“Like, um,” Steve face burns red as he coughs before mumbling, “mouth stuff…”

“Billy Hargrove blew you?”

“It was only a few times."

“Billy Hargrove blew you a few times?”

“He didn't- I mean he did, it was- it was complicated.”

“So you guys were what? Secret  _ lovers _ ?”

“Please don’t say lovers like that.”

“Fine, secret fuck-”

“Listen, we just messed around a few times after work, okay? It wasn’t even a big deal.” As Steve said it, something tightened in his chest, knowing it felt like a lie. Even though it wasn’t. 

“Hey, I’m not judging you, Steve. Remember how I came out to you, high off who knows what in a public bathroom?” 

The door swings open. Robin and Steve turn to see a little old lady returning some tapes. They watch her leave the store before turning back towards one another. Robin’s looking at him curiously. “Have you seen him since?” She asks. 

Robin doesn’t have to fill in the space after  _ since.  _ He knows what she's talking about without her having to mention monsters or Billy taking numerous deadly, teeth-latent tentacles to his torso. 

“No, I haven’t.”

“On purpose?”

“Well, he doesn’t really leave the Byers house.”

“Ane you can’t go visit him?”

"No, I can’t."

"Why not?"

"I told you, we didn't even really see each other that much before."

"So you guys haven’t fooled around since-"

"No."

"And why not?"

Steve's hands flail around as he blinks at Robin, numerous reasons scrambling around his brain, all logical even though none of them feel honest. 

"B-because he's recovering, you know, and I wasn't even that into him anyways."

As soon as the words leave his lips, they feel wrong and heavy. A gigantic lie that adds to his already growing guilt. 

Robin raises her eyebrows. Steve can feel his face heating up.

"I think you should go see him and actually  _ talk  _ to him. It might make you less spazzy and calm the hell down.”

"I’m not spazzing. I'm fine. I have a job with my  _ best friend _ . All my kids are alive. Everything is fine."

***

Later that night, instead of having the usual nightmares that end up with Steve, at best, having a near panic attack, or, at worst, vomiting, he’s met with something different. He sees Billy like how he used to see Billy. Tongue flickering between his teeth to graze his bottom lip. His shirt unbuttoned to his navel, revealing familiar tan, sculpted skin. The sight causes a familiar sensation in Steve’s groin. Billy smiles at him then. His mouth opens up into a laugh. Then it’s pressing kisses into Steve’s collar bone, nibbling at his jaw. Lapping up at the skin along Steve’s throat. Pressing and biting words that vibrate in Steve’s chest.

_ Baby, you feel so good...baby baby baby baby _

Over and over again. 

  
When he wakes up, five a.m. blurry in his bedroom, Steve still has  _ Billy billy billy  _ on his lips. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked it comment. Give me your thoughts, please. Hope you enjoyed it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Steve bond. Steve runs into Billy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a few ideas of where I wanted to go with this story and the character. The Duffer Brothers really didn't give Will that much of a personality so I decided I'd give him one. I also want young gays parenting other younger gays.

With school starting soon, all the kids try to squeeze in as much time with their significant other as possible. Which means Will starts hanging out with Steve and Robin almost every day when his friends are too busy ‘swapping spit’. Robin takes the initiative to start making mixtapes for Will too. 

“The kid needs to know what good music is,” she says. “Not that he doesn’t already have promising taste, I’m just saying there’s always room for growth. Same for you, Harrington.”

It’s a lot of Bowie, Queen, and some New Order.

They exchange tapes in Family Video and blast them throughout the store. Steve finds he actually really likes the tapes.

Holding them in hand, a piece of music someone thought he needed to hear, Steve’s always liked mixtapes. No one had made him one before. He wasn’t as into music as a lot of other people were. He wasn’t a die-hard fan of anyone but being friends with Robin, a self-proclaimed music and band geek, and Will, the little brother of a supposed music snob, made him the perfect target for a musical overtaking. The amount of pop culture that Will, Robin, and even Dustin have been bombarding him with made Steve feel like someone who’d been locked in a basement for decades and was being assimilated into civilized society. 

***

Will invites Steve over one Sunday afternoon. The house is supposed to be vacant at that time. Billy had his mandatory therapy session scheduled and everyone else was supposed to be at work. They hangout in his room, going through Will’s tape collection. They talk about the comics Will still loans Steve, going over the faults in storylines and characters. He complains about his friends' relationships and Steve gives a sympathetic shoulder punch. Steve’s passed the point of being self-conscious about hanging out with someone five years younger than him, who was barely a teenager. 

Will was a cool kid. He was a teenager but, after all the trauma and chaos he’d endured over the years, it was easy to see he was pretty mature for his age. He was also pretty fun to be around after you got him out of his shelf. Will didn’t feel awkward teasing him or criticizing his taste anymore. Robin had also started to become a huge influence on him, her attitude rubbing off on him especially when all three of them were hanging out.

They’re sitting on the floor, looking through comics Will has brought out from boxes in his closet when Will gets up to use the restroom. With him gone, Steve’s short attention span goes berserk. He lets his eyes wander around the room, taking in all the posters and drawings before landing on a book that fell out of the closet next to the comics. There’s bookmarks sticking out from several pages. The book is overfilled with them. 

Curious, Steve picks it up, assuming it to be one of the books Will probably wants him to read or will want him to read. The cover says it's a book of photos from Robert Mapplethorpe. The first thing Steve sees when he flips to a bookmarked page is a black and white photo of two naked men dancing, both wearing crowns, arms wrapped around each other. Steve lingers on the picture for a while, the photo reminding him of Billy from some reason. After a few more seconds of his eyes taking in every detail, Steve starts to thumb through the rest of the pages. Flipping through the book, there’s a lot of photos of men. Several featuring penises. All black in white. The last photo Steve flips to is of two leather-clad men, sharing a stool, and kissing. The sound of the door swinging open takes Steve’s eyes away from the book. 

It takes a second for Will to see what book Steve is holding in his lap. A look of realization crosses his face followed by a level of shock and fear Steve hasn’t seen since the night they tied him up in the backyard. Will remains standing near the door, his eyes flying between Steve and the book in his hands. Neither of them says anything for a few moments. 

“Hey, look,” Steve starts, “I-”

“It’s Robert Mapplethorpe,” Will nearly shouts, eyes full of panic. “He’s one of Jonathan’s favorite photographers.”

“Oka-”

“I just wanted to look at it to see what Jonathan liked. It wasn’t- I didn’t look at-”

Steve puts a hand up. “Hey, it’s okay, man. It’s okay.” Will looked to be on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. His eyes were quickly turning red with moisture. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

“Please don’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t.”

“No one can know, ever, okay?”

“Will, I promise, I won’t tell anyone. You don’t have to worry, I swear.”

Will plops onto the edge of his bed in front of Steve. He hangs his head for a second, breathing heavily before speaking. “I just, I’m still figuring stuff out, okay?”

“That’s totally cool, dude. I get it.”

Will looks up at him then. “No, you don’t get it,” he says. He takes a few seconds to breathe again, wiping at his eyes. “There’s something wrong with me.”

“Hey,” Steve says, putting a hand on his shoulder, “There’s nothing wrong with you. Whether you like boys or not, okay?”

He’s silent again, shoulders falling and rising with every breath under Steve’s hand. “Really?” He asks.

“Yeah, listen,” Steve says, pausing to think about how to word it, “I got a friend who's like you. And nothings wrong with them either.”

Will goes quiet again, staring down at his hands. Steve wonders how Robin would handle this situation and if he was even qualified to be having this conversation with a kid. 

“I’ve never told anyone before,” Will says.

“Well, I’m glad I know,” Steve says. “I’m totally cool with it, man, and I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks.”

“And I’m sorry I was just flipping through your books without asking, that wasn’t cool.”

“It’s fine, I probably should’ve hid it better. I just never have anyone over in my room much anymore.”

“Your friends still too busy dating each other?”

“Yeah, it’s getting really annoying. Even Dustin spends all day hiking out to the hill to radio Suzie.”

“Well, they’re just dumb and in love. It just takes them a minute to cool down.”

“It’s just, we’ve always been together,” Will says. “Me, Mike, Lucas, Dustin. Even El and then Max for a while. But now they’re all dating and just totally ditched the group as a whole and no one cares but me.”

“That’s shitty, dude,” Steve says. “But, hey, you still got me and Robin. We’re both eternally single, if that helps.”

“Thanks, Steve.”

Steve thinks briefly about what else to say to him. He tries to imagine what he’d want his dad to say to him if he was ever around. 

“You, know,” Steve stumbles out. “You can, like, talk to me if anything ever happens or whatever. I’m always around.” Steve laughs. “It’s not like I have anything going on.”

“Thanks, Steve,” Will says, looking up at him. “Can we go back to talking about X-men? I still have this one comic you really should read.”

Steve chuckles before sliding back down to Will’s floor as he looks through his box of comics.

A couple of hours later, Ms. Byers invites Steve to stay for dinner when she gets home. Steve declines politely, opting to make his own sandwich at home and avoid having to face Billy again after the last time Steve tried to talk to him.

***

“Have you ever heard of Robert Mapplethorpe?” Steve asks Robin the next day at work. They’re stocking shelves together in the romantic comedy section which has Robin scoffing at every movie cover. 

She furrows her brows at him. “Yeah, why?”

“What do you know about him?”

“He’s a famous photographer. His photos are a bit…” Robin trails off. “They’re really focused on the male form.” Robin gives Steve a look. “Why do you ask?”

He shrugs. “I just found a book of his photos and was curious.”

“If you wanna know more about  _ the gays _ ,” Robin says pointedly, “just ask me, I’m full of fun facts.”

“Right,” Steve says. They go back to stocking the shelves. Steve lets his mind wander for a bit, thinking back to what happened with Will the day before. Then about Robin’s reaction when he told her about him and Billy.

“Hey,” Steve says.

“Yes, Dingus?”

“Why didn’t you, like, freak out more when I told you about Billy and me?” 

Robin stops stacking, turning to face Billy. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, I told you I was fooling around with Hawkins High’s most eligible bachelor and you didn’t seem all that surprised.”

“Oh,” She says, “I had kind of assumed.”

“Assumed? Assumed what?”

“Well, I just had my suspicions. He came by Scoops Ahoy a lot.”

“Him buying a lot of ice cream made you think we were fooling around?”

Robin shrugs.“You would always leave right after to go to ‘stock the stock room’ or ‘get more ice cream’, she says. “I’m not an idiot and also you always came back with sex hair.”

“No, I didn’t!” Steve says, a whole-body blushing starting to burn his face

“Pretty sure you did,” Robin shrugs again.

***

Steve is back at the Byers house again at the end of August. This time he brings Robin with him. Ms. Byers is throwing another barbeque. It’s supposed to be some small, end of summer celebration since school is due to start in a week for everyone except Steve. He had contemplated not going. He didn’t want to risk another mortifying interaction with Billy. But Will and Dustin had begged him to. And Ms. Byers had called his house, saying it had been a while since she last saw him, obviously trying to guilt-trip him into going. Steve brought Robin as back up (after asking Ms. Byers if that was fine, of course). 

At the barbeque, everything and everyone was set up much like last time. Hopper and Ms. Byers were manning the grill and food. Nancy and Jonathan were huddled together in a corner. Max was chasing Lucas around while Dustin, Mike, and El watched. The only difference was Billy sitting on a fold-out chair near the grill, tucked away from everyone, not really saying or doing anything. Steve was seated at the same fold-out table, with Robin on one side and Will across from him. Avoiding looking in Billy’s direction but failing repeatedly. 

Once the burgers were ready, the kids flooded towards the grill then the table to sit and eat. Steve watched Billy wait until everyone had got a plate before walking over to make himself a burger. He then walked back and sat by himself in the same chair. 

“Did Steve finally ask you out?” Dustin asks Robin, still chewing on a hot dog. 

“We’re just friends, Hendersen,” Steve says. He had expected this to happen.

“Steve isn’t really my type,” Robin says. They both knew that basically, everyone thought they were dating. Robin was fine with people thinking she was straight but she was adamant about not letting people think that Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington was using her as a rebound. 

“But Steve is everyone’s type,” Dustin says. 

“Thanks, man,” Steve says. Dustin meets his fist in a fist bump over the center of the table.

“He’s great with kids and has nice hair,” Dustin says. “Sure, he can’t fight and his career aspects are-”

“Thanks for the sales pitch, Hendersen,” Steve says. “But Robin’s not my type either.”

“Right,” Dustin rolls his eyes.

“Do you like someone else?” El asks, staring intently at Steve as if she can see inside his head. And Steve is almost positive that she actually can.

“Steves’ too busy to date,” Robin says, saving him the struggle of trying to answer. “Family Video is a very demanding job.”

“Do you like someone?” Max asks, the question directed at Robin. Steve raises his eyebrows. He never thought the kids were that interested in their love lives. 

“Maybe?” Robin says. Steve’s ears peak in interest. He hasn’t heard anything about any possible lady love interests.“I don’t know yet.”

Robin then diverts attention away from her by asking Dustin about Suzie. The whole table groans as he starts in on what feels like a half-hour rundown of all Dustin and Suzie’s latest conversations.

***

Steve is refilling his cup with Coke in the kitchen when Nancy walks in. She smiles at him. “Hey,” she says, walking by him to stack some plates in the sink. 

“Hey.”

“So Robin seems nice,” she says, coming to stand by him at the kitchen counter.

“Yeah, she’s cool.”

“I’m really glad you guys are together. You seem happy.”

“Oh, no, no, no. We’re not together.”

Nancy’s face twists in confusion.“What?”

“We’re just friends,” Steve explains. “Actually, she’s my best friend. We’re not like that.”

“Oh, I just thought…”

“Yeah, everyone else thinks so too but she’s just my friend. That’s it.” Steve shakes his head. “Trust me, I’m not her type.”

Nancy smirks, “Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington isn’t her type?”

“I know, hard to believe but yeah, we’re better off as best friends.”

“Well, I’m still happy for you. You do seem happier.”

“Thanks, Nance.” Steve coughs, thinking for a second before continuing. “I never said this but I’m happy for you too.” Steve coughs again. “I know I was a shitty boyfriend and a pretty, overall shitty dude but I am happy for you. Honest.”

Nancy’s smile is genuine and soft as she says,“Thanks, Steve.” She touches his arm briefly before walking back out to the yard. Steve is surprised to realize he meant everything he said to Nancy. Seeing her and Jonathan together didn’t hurt him as much as it use. At some point, the jealousy and heartache must’ve dissipated, replaced with the way his heart clenched at the sight of Billy. 

Steve ventures down the hall to use the bathroom. He goes to open the door when it swings open to reveal Billy. Who just stands and stares at him, unblinking. The lack of expression unnerves Steve but he decides he might as well double down since he’d already made a fool of himself the last time they talked. 

“Hey,” Steve says.

“Hey,” Billy says, voice quiet and low. After a few beats of silence, he continues to stare, showing no signs of moving out of Steve’s way.

Steve rubs the back of his head, trying to find words to make the interaction less awkward. 

“How are you doing?” He asks. 

“Fine.”

“Good, good. That’s...good.”

“Yeah…”

Steve closes his eyes for a second, bringing his hand up to pinch at the bridge of his nose. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy to talk to Billy after everything that had happened. But he still wished it didn’t feel as hard as it did in that moment. He takes a long breath before opening his mouth again.

“Listen, I really wanted to apologize for everything,” he says. “I’m sorry for not checking on you before, you know, and not seeing you after everything happened and not really being around. I was being shitty. I wanted to check up on you but I didn’t and there really wasn’t any good excuse for why I didn’t. I’m really so fuckin sorry, Billy, I -” 

Steve’s cut off by Billy’s arms wrapping around him. They’re snug around Steve’s middle, Billy’s head pressed into his shoulder. Steve quickly wraps his own arms around Billy. He didn’t realize how much he had missed the familiar grip of Billy’s arms until that moment. The heat radiating off him, so much higher than Steve’s own body heat, made Steve want to squeeze back tighter. But he didn’t want to scare off Billy. He wanted to stay suspended indefinitely in the seconds of Billy holding him and Steve holding him back. He held on for as long as Billy let him. Which only felt like a few seconds until he felt Billy’s his arms drop and his body begin to pull away. He tries not to let disappointment show on his face as Billy steps away from him. Without another word or glance, Billy takes off towards the backyard.

***

Steve is still thinking about Billy’s hug and run the next night as he’s hanging out with Robin, smoking a joint at the quarry at two a.m. Robin’s cousin supposedly sold weed at Purdue and gave her a few ounces whenever he was in town. 

“I think Cindy Cohn is into me,” Robin says, flicking a few ashes out the window.  _ Dreams  _ is playing softly through the car, both of them swaying their heads to the music. 

“Cindy Cohn? The cheerleader?”

“She asked for my notes in Chemistry and then for my pen in AP English,” Robin says. “I’m pretty sure she likes me.”

“Is that the person you were talking about at the Byers barbeque?”

“Yeah. She gives me a vibe.”

“A vibe?”

“A vibe.”

“The same vibe Billy gave you?”

“Not quite the same but similar. With Billy, it was  _ kinda  _ obvious, in a way, if you knew what to look for. With Cindy, I don’t know, it’s mostly just a feeling.”

“What do you have to look for to know?”

“Like with Billy?”

“Yeah.”

“With Billy, it was kinda everything. The tight pants, the tight, unbuttoned shirts, always showing off his body, and he was always on you.”

“What do you mean  _ on  _ me?”

“During basketball games, in gym, he’d always be on you and get in your face. It was kinda obvious. Plus, he used to treat girls like shit, put on a big show about it but I don’t think he ever actually like slept with them.”

“Wow,” Steve says. “You’re very observant for someone who acts like they don’t care about anyone else in high school.”

“I was only interested in the kids I thought might be family.”

“What did you think of me?” Steve asks. Robin gives him a look before passing off the joint to him. 

“I thought you were in love with Nancy Wheeler who was a very conventional, very safe and obvious girl to be in love with.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know, at first I just thought you were just an average straight guy, in love with a priss but Nancy is definitely not a priss and you’re definitely not straight.”

Steve hadn’t thought about himself in those terms before. He’d only thought in terms of wanting to be with Billy and not wanting to be with Nancy anymore. Straight or gay hadn’t crossed his mind. 

“I think I like both,” Steve says, speaking as he thinks.

“What?” Robin asks.

“I think I like boys and girls,” Steve says. “I really fell hard for Nancy. I was in love with her for a while. And I also had a lot of fun with Billy.”

“That’s cool,” Robin says, nodding her head to the music, “People can like both.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I think the preferred term is bisexual.”

“Hmm,” Steve says, taking another hit. He lets the smoke collect in his lungs before exhaling. 

“Anyway, I think I’m gonna ask Cindy Cohn to be my study partner in English,” Robin says.”

“Shoot for the stars, kid.”

“Okay, grandpa,” Robin scoffs. She plucks the joint from Steve’s hand and takes a hit herself. “So what’s the deal with you and Billy?”

“Nothing. There’s no deal.”

“Hase he talked to you since the hug incident at the Byers?”

“Nope. Total radio silence.”

“To be fair, I don’t think he’s talking to anyone other than his sister.”

“I mean, what is there to talk about? I apologized. Twice. He hugged me so I’m assuming that means he accepted it.” Steve says. “Obviously, he doesn’t wanna talk to me though. He keeps running away.”

“You could always ask him why he’s always running away.”

“I don’t need to ask him. I already know. He doesn’t wanna talk to me. That’s what running away from someone usually means, Rob.”

“Not necessarily,” Robin says, putting a finger up as she exhales.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you have to talk to him, dingus. Only way to get clarity on your situation.”

“Clarity? I already have clarity. He doesn’t wanna talk to me.”

“You don’t know that. Talk to him and you might just get laid again.”

“Laid? What-” Steve starts indignantly before Robin puts a hand up.

“Don’t give me that, I know you still want Billy bad. I see it in your eyes every time he's in the same room as you,” Robin says. “You’re not sneaky.”

A full blush overtakes Steve’s face. “I can’t talk to him if he won’t talk to me. He literally keeps running away.”

“Keep trying.”

“He needs space. He’s still recovering and shit. He doesn’t even talk.”

“Fine, give him space but talk to him at some point.” Robin points the joint at him. “Soon, dingus. Love can only wait so long.”

“Love?” Steve heart jolts in his chest.

“Calm down, you know what I mean,” Robin says, waving away Steve’s indignation. “Now be quiet, I really like this song.”

The mention of love puts a pressure on Steve’s chest and gut that he feels for the rest of the night. He doesn’t know what it means but he knows it can’t be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave your thoughts and other comments below. I hope you liked it. I've decided I'm just gonna write what I want which is Tiny Gay Will and Gay Dad Steve and Lesbian Mom Robin. Who also have good music taste.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gays bond. There's a family dinner. It's fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me longer than usual to finish this chapter because I've been busy and lazy and uninspired so there's that. But I did it. And I know where I'm going (mostly) so cheers to that.

The beginning of the school year marks the end of the constant lazing around Robin and Steve did all summer. No more slow days spent laying around his house, driving all night long, blasting tapes in a town that felt almost suffocating with history sometimes. They avoid driving near the mall, content to only see the burnt bones of that place in their nightmares. There’s still red tape wrapped all around it, a chain link fenced having gone up quickly after the accident. No one has been there since the day afterwards when the news vans swarmed outside the fence, reporting only a mysterious fire, and the miraculous teenage survivors. 

Steve knows Billy and Robin are the only ones still in therapy. Steve stopped going after the two months of mandatory sessions he was medically mandated into after Starcourt burned down. He was quickly prescribed anxiety meds to keep him calm and help him sleep. Less waking up in the middle of the night to see monsters and people dying. 

Robin and Will start school again, this time going to the same school as a Freshman and Senior. Which makes Steve feel supremely old. Robin’s hours are cut in half at Family Video. She’s immediately loaded with honors chemistry homework and Advanced Lit papers. She works on it all shift long while she’s working with Steve, only taking breaks to give him shit about this or that. The only reprieve she gets from school is hanging out with Steve on the odd nights they’re both off work. 

Will seems to be in a similar boat. He’s apparently taking an honors sophomore English class. Most days, he does his homework at the back counter of Family Video just to hang around Steve and Robin even if they’re not really talking. Steve’s shifts usually consist of restocking shelves as Will and Robin’s heads are buried in a textbook or scribbling in a spiral notebook. He’s glad his friends are much smarter than he is. Whenever Robin talks about possible colleges, all across the country on one coast or the other, he can’t help but feel the smallest spark of pride. Robin punches him whenever he calls her a genius. 

He knows from Will that Billy is taking a break from school. Mrs. Byers said it was a “medical leave of absence” with an official government doctor’s note so the school wouldn’t give them any problems. He wasn’t scheduled to go back to school till after Winter Break. Supposedly at his therapist’s recommendations. From what Will says, he’s likely to graduate on time, if things went according to schedule.

Billy, even though he partied and fought like a lunatic without a brain, shared plenty honors and advanced classes with Nancy. Apparently, he had acquired enough credits early on to make up for the ones he was gonna miss this first semester. 

With everyone in school, Steve spends a lot of time alone when he’s not working for the majority of September. He tries to fill his time watching all the movies and reading all the books Robin and Will tell him to. He smokes a lot of weed at night to help him sleep since he still has nightmares sometimes and his anxiety meds work better with it. Things don’t calm down and regulate again until the beginning of October. Robin’s schedule opens up more. She starts picking up more shifts. It aligns almost perfectly with Steve’s. Will has gotten back into making him mixtapes. 

With Steve giving all the kids rides home after school most days, Will comes over to his house more often than not to hangout. Robin usually comes over too. 

***

“Does anyone else know about you?” Steve asks Robin one night as they’re smoking out by his pool. His parents are on another trip somewhere on the East Coast. Robin usually stays late ‘cause she knows Steve can’t stand to be alone in his house some nights. He didn’t really after to face that fact until after Billy stopped coming over. And the nightmares came with a fury.

Robin raises her eyes at him. “Know what?”

“You know what.”

Robin scoffs. “Gotta be more specific, Stevie.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Who else knows that you’re gay?”

“Just you and my family.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean,” she sits up a little in the lawn chair next to Steve. “I told my dad when I was thirteen and my mom when I was fifteen. My brothers all kinda knew already.”

“How did they take it?”

“My brothers didn’t care. My dad was like I still love you which was cool. My mom was awkward about it for a while but she’s good now.”

Steve makes a vague sound in acknowledgment. “Why?” She asks.

“Someone else...told me they like boys. But he doesn’t know about me.”

“Cool. Are you gonna tell him?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do I know him?”

Steve thinks about the probability of Robin finding out about Will. “Yeah.”

“Did you tell him about me?”

“No, I just said I knew someone like him.” Steve pauses as he thinks. “I think I’m gonna tell him soon. He thinks there’s no one else like him around.”

“Is it Will?”

Steve’s eyes widen at her. “How the hell do you know that?”

“I have amazing gaydar.”

“Apparently.”

“Tell him and I’ll tell him about me. We’ll take that tiny gay boy under our wing.”

Steve snorts. “Really?”

“Really. Listen, I wish I had two cool, older, gay kids to take me under their wing and show the gay ropes. Especially in Hawkins, Indiana. I mean, statistically speaking, there should be a lot more of us around but, obviously, most of us aren't out. Well, none of us, are out, technically.”

“So, what? You wanna have a dual coming out?”

“Yeah, why not? It must get lonely only hanging out with straights.”

***

Robin and Steve vaguely make plans about what to say to Will. Steve is much less sure about it than Robin but with the promise of “helping a young, gay youth in crisis” Steve doesn’t really have much of a choice. 

Steve picks up Will and Robin that Saturday. Robin and Will talk like usual about thing Steve vaguely understands. Steve remains mostly silent, trying not to be weird but failing miserably. Noticeably enough to keep drawing looks from Will who Robin keeps trying to distract with conversation. When they park and Will heads into the house first, Robin leans across the driver’s seat. “Stop being weird, dingus,” she says. “We need him to be comfortable and not freak him out.”

“I’m trying but I’m kinda freaked out!” Steve says. “I’ve never done this before except with you.”

“Steve, it’ll be fine. He’s literally already come out to you. Now we just gotta do the same,” Robin slides out of the passenger seat. She turns around to beckon Steve after her. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

Inside, Will plops down onto the couch. Steve looks at Robin who goes straight to his family’s movie collection, pretending to check out the titles. She stands there idly, watching Steve watch Will.

“Why are you guys being weird?” Will asks. His eyes flicker between Steve and Robin. 

“Well…”Steve starts but only manages to open and close his mouth repeatedly. He tries to find the words to start the conversation he’d gone over in his head a hundred times already. Robin saves him after a minute of stumbling. “We had something we wanted to talk to you about,” she says.

“What is it?” Will’s eyes dart between Robin and Steve, panic starting to set on his face. 

“It’s nothing bad,” Robin’s quick to chime in. 

“Yeah, no, nothing bad,” Steve agrees. “It’s like not even a big deal but still.”

Silence overtakes the room for a few unbearable seconds. Robin soon cracks under the awkwardness of it all. “I’m a lesbian!” she announces. She grins and gestures towards Steve. “Now you go.”

“What?” Will asks, eyes still jumping between him and Robin. Steve turns to face him. 

“I like guys too,” he says. “I’m like you.”

“You’re like me?”

“Yes.”

“Same here,” Robin chimes in again. 

Steve catches Will’s eyes after they dart back and forth between them. “We’re like you and we wanted you to know that, you know, you weren’t alone,” he says. “Or whatever.”

“Nice touch, Harrington,” Robin says. 

They both study Will. His face is unreadable. But only for a few seconds before he starts to cry. 

“Oh, Jesus,” Steve says. He wasn’t prepared for a crying kid. He looks over at Robin who gestures with her hands in a way Steve takes to mean to console him. “Hey, it’s okay, man,” Steve says, inching closer towards Will. His eyes bounce between Robin and Will, panicking. She comes over to sit a few inches away from Will on the couch.“Hey, everything’s gonna be fine,” she says. She puts a hand on Will’s shaking shoulder and gives Steve a look. A look he’d usually receive if he stocked the wrong shelves at work or forgot to lock up correctly. He gives her one back since he was never properly trained how to deal with crying kids. The closest thing he got to emotional support as a child was weekly allowances from his dad and the odd hug he got from his mom on holidays. 

Will removes his hands from his eyes. He looks up at them with wet, bloodshot eyes. “Sorry, it’s just…” He starts stumbling with words when Robin puts her arm around his shoulder. “I know,” she says. “I get it.” And it’s the gentlest Steve has ever heard her sound. Almost like she sounded when they were high off their asses in the movie theater bathroom.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, and that’s why Steve and me have decided to take you under our gay wings.”

“I’m not gay,” Steve says. 

“Okay, gay and bisexual wings, respectively.”

Will gives them a watery smile. And Steve returns the smile as Robin launches into the story of how she came out to Steve with great exaggeration.

  
  


***

Things carry on pretty much the same after that. Except Robin seemed to be intent on giving both Steve and Will a proper ‘gay education’. With nothing to do in Hawkins and all three of them knowing about each other, Robin attempts to convince Steve to drive them to Indianapolis. “I know a lot of cool cafes and bookstores there,” she says.

“Why would we drive all the way to Indianapolis to go to cafes and bookstores?” Steve asks. “Pretty sure we have those here in Hawkins, too.”

“They’re the gay kind, Harrington,” Robin says as if Steve should know that. “I figured it's time to be around more of our people.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Will says excitedly. They’re behind the counter of Family Video. Steve pretends to think about it. He’s never met another gay person before except for Robin. And Will. Let alone went to a bookstore specifically for them. But even he’s excited over the prospect of being around other people like them. He continues to pretend to think it over for a few more minutes even though Robin already knows he’s gonna say yes. Like he ever says no. But Steve still likes to pretend he some semblance of free will. 

“Fine, but you have to ask your mom,” Steve says to Will. “And you have to pay for gas,” he says to Robin. 

“Half of the gas.”

“Fine.”

“Cool,” Will says, already buzzing with excitement. 

***

They leave that Saturday afternoon. Robin takes the front seat and Will slides into the back, excitement radiating off of him in waves. It’d be easier to find it adorable if Steve weren’t so anxious he has to keep his hands tight on the wheel to stop them from shaking. Laying in bed the night before, all possible scenarios of what could go wrong started to rattle around in his head. He doubled up on meds and pot before he could finally sleep.

“What if someone sees us?” He asks Robin.

“No ones gonna see us. And if they do, we’re just buying books. Simple cover story,” Robin says. 

Steve shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

“Steve, it’ll be fine. If you’re really freaked out, we can just leave, okay? Let’s just go look.”

“Fine.”

“Great, let’s roll,” Robin says, sliding in a tape she made specifically for the drive to Indianapolis. It takes them a little less than an hour to get there with traffic. 

Once they reach downtown, Robin directs them to a small, hole in the wall bookstore next to a slew of cafes and bars. A man in a tight, unbuttoned shirt (the kind Steve thinks Billy would wear) and horn-rimmed glasses is working the front counter when they walk inside. Most of the other people in the store are average looking guys and a few girls. Nothing stands out except for a rainbow flag in a back corner.

“Let’s explore, boys,” Robin says. 

Will wanders over to an aisle marked English poetry and Steve follows him. Most of the books on the shelves are used. The spines are worn under Steve’s fingers as he runs his hands along them. Robin goes over towards the aisle labeled music and composition. Steve pretends to check out the books about E.M Forster and Emily Dickinson while trying to look around at everyone else in the store. He tries to be subtle about it. 

Steve’s never spent much time in a bookstore before. He didn’t even like being in the library when he was in high school. It was too quiet and there was nothing to do but read. He had never actually read much until Robin and Will started telling him he had to read all the books they were always talking about. It also didn’t hurt that he had endless time to kill since graduating and he didn’t want to feel like a loser who only watched TV when he wasn’t working. 

He never read in school because he got bored easily. He still gets bored easily but reading helps take his mind off of Billy and the nightmares and the things that race around his head when everything is still and quiet. The things he takes his anxiety pills for. He reads to distract himself now. To calm down.

As Steve’s looking around he catches the eye of the guy at the cash register. He winks at Steve who whips his head around so fast, it almost makes contact with the wood shelf behind him. He can feel the beginnings of a blush taking over his face. He moves towards the history section, away from the main entrance and cash register.

There’s only one other person in the aisles. A blonde boy in thin, wire glasses and a tight t-shirt. Curly hair falls over the glasses. His shirt stretches over lean, noticeable muscle. He shoots Steve a small smile as soon as he stumbles into the aisle.

“Hey,” he says. 

“Hi,” Steve says, blinking. Unprepared for someone to actually talk to him.

“You looking for something specific?” He asks. 

“Oh, you work here?” Steve says, awkwardly laughing the slightest bit.

The guy laughs in return. Either with him or at him, Steve’s not sure. “Sometimes, yeah.”

“Um, no, not really. Just looking.”

His lips curve in a smile. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I don’t- Uh, I don’t really read.”

He laughs again. “Really? Why are you in a bookstore then?”

“My friends kinda dragged me here,” Steve says, running his hand through his hair.

“Oh, I see,” the guy smiles. “Well, since you don’t like reading, we could talk about what you do like over coffee if that’s alright?”

“Coffee?”

“Yeah, like going out for a cup of coffee.” He smiles at Steve again, gesturing towards the entrance. “There’s a nice little cafe around the corner.”

“Oh. Oh, I’m sorry, I’m, like, flattered but I’m with my friends.”

“Oh, no that’s fine-”

“ ‘M really sorry.”

“It’s fine, really,” he says, still smiling. “Maybe I’ll see you around another time.”

“Yeah, maybe” Steve says. He once again almost knocks over a whole shelf as he stumbles out of the aisle. 

***

“So I saw you talking to a boy,” Robin says once they’re back in the car. Will left with two books, one titled Leaves of Grass and another titled the best gay poetry of 1984. 

“Yes, a boy did talk to me,” Steve says. 

“Well, what did he want?”

“He wanted to go for coffee.”

Robin’s brows peak interest. “Well, what did you say?”

“I said I was with my friends.”

She gives him a look. “You turned him down because of Billy, right?”

“Billy?” Will’s voice pipes up from the backseat. Whom they both completely forgot was there for a few seconds. Both Robin and Steve’s eyes widen substantially. ‘Oops,’ she mouths. 

“He doesn’t want anyone to know-” Steve starts before launches in with assault of questions.

“Billy Hargrove? The guy who threatened Lucas and beat you up?”

“Well-”

“Did something happen? What happened with him? ” Will asks. 

“Nothing, eh-” he looks at Robin, fumbling for what to say. She shrugs in response. “It’s complicated,” is what Steve settles on. He’s not sure what’s the appropriate term was for guys who hated each other but also fucked around. And whether or not he should relay that information to a fourteen-year-old. 

“What does that mean?”

“It means we were, uh, messing around.”

“He likes boys?” Will asks.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Will settles back into his seat. He seems to take a moment to process that information. “We’re not anymore,” Steve clarifies in the silence that follows. “We don’t- It’s not like that anymore. It ended a while ago.”  _ Whatever it was  _ Steve thinks.

“How come?”

“Uh, well, uh…” Steve looks to Robin who shrugs again. “Stuff got complicated after the stuff with the Mind Flayer, you know,” Steve says. “People change and it’s just different now.”

There’s a pause before Will responds. “I get it,” he says. It goes silent in the backseat after that. Steve can see Will’s eyes turn wistful in the rearview mirror. His looks over towards Robin. Steve nods towards the tape on his dashboard where Will’s favorite rests. It’s a copy of Reo Speedwagon’s Hi Fidelity. A tape which Robin always rolls her eyes at but is the only tape Steve gave to Will that he knows actually Will liked. Will plays it all the time whenever Robin lets him instead of Fleetwood Mac. 

Robin doesn’t roll her eyes this time as she slides the tape in. They listen to the opening notes of ‘Keep On Loving You’ as they start the drive home.

  
  


***

Besides the awkward interaction with the guy, Steve actually had a pretty decent time in the city. Robin and Will loved it and couldn’t wait to go back. So they start to spend most weekend afternoons and some weeknights in gay cafes and libriaries. Mainly just going into the city whenever they can. Will is the main driving force, always excited to experience other people and the sprawling, possibilities of the city. And Steve gets it. He admires the hope and excitement Will radiates whenever they get off the freeway and arrive downtown. His willingness and desire for it is palpable. Steve’s never seen Will as alive and active as he is when he’s hanging out with him and Robin in the city. When it’s just the three of them, he talks and talks and wants to explore everything Robin suggests. He’s not as withdrawn and quiet as he usually is with the others. It’s almost like he’s been so pressed into himself that he’s finally letting himself come undone. As if existing has become easier. And Steve wishes he could feel like that. The closest he had to the same sensation was whenever Billy invaded his space in a way felt like he was breathing life back into Steve. And he can barely remember the last time that happened.

In the city, the places to explore seem endless. Robin seems to know every gay spot in Indianapolis. Even the ones that seem to be only oriented towards boys. Steve asks her about it one night as they’re hanging out in his living room.

“How do you know all this stuff?”

“I’ve known I’ve liked girls since I was eight, Steve. In Hawkins, Indiana, of all places. I had to do some research after a while.”

Hanging out in the city seems to have given Robin some new life as well. Robin starts seeing Cindy Cohn in secret, hanging out under the guise of study partners. She tells Steve about it during a while they’re stocking shelves at Family Video one day. Steve dumps a stack of tapes on the ground to high five her. 

Most of Steve’s paychecks start to be spent on gas and parking meters. Most weekends, when Robin and Will don’t have homework, they’re in Indianapolis. Steve wonders if the rest of the group have noticed Will’s absence due to his constant city trips. 

“Mike asked but they aren’t that concerned about it. I only say I’m hanging out with you guys, I haven’t told them about Indianapolis ‘cause they’d wanna go,” Will says. He wears the same tired expression he always does when talking about his friends being busy. “Mike doesn’t wanna screw up with El again so he’s spending a lot of time trying not to even though Hopper said there’s a time limit now and Max also wants to hangout with El all the time when she’s not with Lucas.”

“Sounds time consuming.” 

“I don’t get how people date.”

“Me either, man,”

***

Mrs. Byers invites Steve over for family dinner one night. He gets off work early and drives straight over. Will answers the door and guides him to the living room. All the kids are sitting around, talking about classes and people Steve doesn’t know. Steve can see Hopper helping Mrs. Byers cook in the kitchen. Helping as in handing her whatever she asks for from tall shelves she can’t reach. When he’s not helping, he’s leaning against the counter, watching her cook. Curiously, Steve sees Billy actually helping Mrs. Byers cook. He cuts up ingredients, dropping food in bowls and measuring out quantities quietly. He seems to know what he’s doing. A few feet away, Nancy and Jonathan are setting the table. 

Steve plumps onto the ground, finding a seat between Dustin and Will. Dustin, Lucas and Mike seem to be in the middle of a debate about some movie Steve hasn’t seen. Steve glances over at the kitchen again. He watches as Billy takes a hot pan out of the oven, thick blue oven mitts on his hands. The sight makes something go warm and liquid in Steve’s chest. The thought comes to him about pressing Billy against the oven. He tries to shake it away but the desire is very much hot beneath his skin. He wishes he could touch him how they used to touch each other before The Mall. Back when it was just the two of them in Steve’s house, all alone with no one to think about as Billy’s hands burned all over his body. 

At the dinner table, which is two tables squished together to accommodate all the kids and guests, Steve can’t help but let his eyes wander over to Billy across the table, opposite the lasagna. Max and El are on either side of him. All the kids are bickering and yelling and laughing around them but he sits silently, expressionless and only moving in slow, careful increments. He’s completely docile. So different from the previous pompous, in-your-face attitude he was famous for. He sits like a wall decoration, keeping quiet and trying not to draw attention to himself. But every now and then Max or El will turn and say something to him, smiling or laughing and he’ll crack the smallest smile back. Sometimes, he’ll even respond, his lips moving but the sound too quiet for anyone else to hear.

It tightens something in Steve’s chest again. A ball of warmth bundles in his stomach ands its there all throughout dinner. He’s never seen Billy be that gentle outside of the bedroom. And the gentleness was always fleeting. During the soft quiet of Steve’s house after sex, sharing a cigarette. The recollection of soft kisses being peppered along Steve’s nape hits Steve briefly. It leaves something heavy in his gut. The urge to kiss him is rocks him harder than ever. To place his hand along Billy’s jaw, face, neck and hold it against him, to surround Billy with himself. He fists the fabric of his jacket under the table, his fingers almost vibrating with the want of it. 

***

After dinner, the kids play a game of dnd in the kitchen and Steve excuses himself for a smoke in the backyard. Surprisingly, Will skips the game to come outside with him. He can hear Mike and Dustin calling for him from the kitchen. He can’t hear what Will says in response but he brushes them off quietly as he stands next to Steve. 

“Can I have one?” Will asks. 

Steve raises his eyebrows down at him. “Seriously?”

“I can buy my own in a few years.”

“Then buy them yourself in a few years,” Steve says. “These things are incredibly bad for you.”

“But you’re smoking one right now.”

“I’m an adult and my lungs are fucked anyway.”

Will doesn’t say anything else. They stand in silence for a while. It isn’t awkward. It’s the kind of silence where they’re both thinking of other things in respectfully. Will is the first one to break it. 

“How did you know you liked boys?” he asks. 

Steve is only slightly caught off guard. He takes another drag of his cigarette as he thinks about how to answer that. There's only one thing he can think to say. The most accurate and honest answer: “Billy.”

Mike stares off the lines tree lining the backyard. “I realized I was in love with Mike when we were in fifth grade” He says. “I realized I didn’t wanna hangout with anyone else more than I wanted to hangout with him and I wanted to hangout with him for as long as I could.”

“Does he know?”

“No, I didn’t really figure out what it meant until after El came around. And, you know, they love each other.”

Steve puts a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, man.”

“It’s okay, really. I’m mostly over it and Mike’s happy. And I really like El. She’s basically family.”

“You’re a bigger man than me.”

Will shakes his head. “No, I know what you did with Jonathan and Nancy.”

“What did I do with Jonathan and Nancy?”

“You stood aside. That’s what I’m doing too.”

Steve doesn’t know what to say to that. He offers his cigarette to Will. “You get one hit and that’s it. If I find out you’ve developed a habit, I’ll kick your ass.”

Will smiles. “I’m okay,” he says.

They stand out in the backyard for a few more minutes as Steve finishes his cigarette.

After dropping off Max, Lucas and Dustin, Steve drives around aimlessly for a couple of hours. He can’t stop thinking of what Will said. And about how Billy was at dinner. He can’t stop picturing the Billy from before and trying to make sense of the Billy now. The feeling of Billy’s mouth on his neck and all the dirty words whispered into Steve’s skin clash with the crinkled, warm eyes he shot at Max and El. His heart aches for all of it. The aching doesn’t stop even after he finishes the whole pack of cigarettes in his glove compartment. It still hums deeply throughout his body as he collapses into bed around four a.m., picturing Billy’s small smile as he snakes his hands into his boxers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill, please leave comment and kudos if you're so inclined.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gay gang have a nice night out. Everyone has to deal with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I've been motivated but I'm sorry. I got a nice comment and felt bad so please accept this very quickly finished and poorly edited chapter that I've been dreading finishing for a few months.

Steve is out with Will and Robin downtown again, at one of the bookstores they like to frequent called  _ ‘ Oscar’s Closet’  _ (a play on words Robin explains to him after he wonders out loud why someone would call their bookstore that). They’re just leaving when Will stops them in front of a flyer. It’s an ad for a punk band playing at a gay bar that Steve and Robin go to sometimes when Will is asleep and it’s time for the grownups to be around other grown ups. But the flyer says all ages. And Steve can already see Will and Robin’s faces brightening in excitement. And he can already feel his own face creasing in agitation.

“No,” he says preemptively. 

“Steve-” They both whine in unison. 

“Your mom would never let us take you to a  _ dive bar _ ,” Steve says to Will. He then turns to Robin. “And we’re not taking a fourteen year old to a dive bar.”

“My mom would let me go, I just have to ask her,” he pleads, wide puppy eyes already on full display. 

“Come on, Steve, the kid wants to go, I want to go, we just wanna enjoy queer punk music in the company of other queer punks.”

“Please, please,” they both start in unison. Steve isn’t in the mood but his resolve is weak already. Especially with both of them pouting. 

“Fine! Fine.” Steve gives in, shaking his head. “God, I hate teenagers,” he says. He turns towards Will who still has his hands clasped together in a pleading gesture. “Let’s find a pay phone and I'll ask your mom. I’m pretty sure she trusts me. I think.” He turns towards Robin whose eye is cocked challengingly. “Robin, no funny business in front of the kid.”

“I’m not gonna engage in an orgy, Steve.”

“Not tonight, at least.”

***

Steve doesn’t voice it but at the back of his mind, he agrees partially because Cindy and Robin have paused their study session for the time being. And Robin, whether she shows it or not, is bummed about it. “She got too freaked out, said she was straight,” Robin said one smoke filled night in the front seat of his car. “What can you do?”

Robin probably needs the night out more than anyone at the moment. Especially in a crowd of other people like them. Her and Will couldn’t be more excited and Steve couldn’t be more nervous even though he knew Robin and Will deserved a break like this. It was the same tension curling in his shoulders, the worry building in his stomach whenever he had to watch the whole gang of kids, making sure no one was mortally wounded. 

They find a payphone quickly enough around the corner from the book store. 

“Hello?” Mrs. Byers' staticky voice clicks through the phone. 

“Mrs. Byers? It’s Steve.”

“Oh, hi, Steve, how’s the city? Is everything okay? Is Will-”

“Everything’s fine, Mrs. Byers,” Steve cuts in before her train of worry could take off. “The citys’ great. Will is having a good time and everything. But, he just wanted me to ask you if it would be okay if he came to a rock show that Robin and I were planning to go tonight.”

“A rock show? In the city?”

“Yeah, it’s just a small show Robin and I were already planning to go to and Will found out about it. I told him we’d have to get your permission first before we got him a ticket or did anything.”

“Well, what time does it start? How late is it gonna go do you think?”

“Well, it starts at seven. We should be done by ten and on the way back by ten thirty at the latest with traffic.”

“Well, let me talk to him first.” Steve hands the phone to Will. He steps out of the booth to wait with Robin as Will assures his mom he’ll be alright. 

“You really can’t help sucking up to parents, huh?” Robin asks.

“What do you mean? I didn’t do any sucking up.”

“ _ Oh yes, gee, mrs. byers. we wanted to make sure we got your permission first _ .”

“I’m just naturally polite, sorry I wasn’t raised by wolves,” Steve says. Although he might as well have been. 

Will soon enough comes bounding out of the phonebooth. “She said I could go,” he says, buzzing with as much excitement as Steve’s ever seen him buzz. 

“Great, shows not for another few hours,” Robin says, waving the flyer she had snatched from outside the bookstore. “Let’s go get dinner.”

***

Robin leads them to a hole in the wall diner a few streets over. Everything on the menu is absurdly cheap and incredibly greasy. They gorge themselves on burgers and fries until they’re all leaning back in their booth, stomachs packed tight for the night ahead. 

“Are you gonna talk to any boys tonight?” Robin asks Steve over his milkshake. 

“No, why would I?” Steve asks but the question sounds stupid even to Steve’s ears.

“You’re a guy who's into other guys, Steve,” Robin says. “It’s not exactly outside the realm of possibility.”

“I’m just not looking for anything right now.”

“What about you?” Robin asks, turning towards Will whose sitting beside her.

“He’s not looking for anything either, he’s a child,” Steve says, appalled.

Robin puts a hand up. “Calm down,  _ dad,  _ he’s fourteen,” she says. “Boys start to experience certain changes around that age.”

“Can we not? He’s a kid-”

“I’m not a kid,” Will cuts in. Robin looks at him. Then raises her eyes back at Steve.

“Yes, you are. You’re a kid who we’re taking to a dive bar where Robin and I will probably be the youngest people besides you and you’re most definitely not looking for anyone in that crowd.”

“Again, calm down, grandpa,’ Robin cuts in. “He’s a teenager, not a priest. And we’ll be with him so no perverts will corrupt him, okay?”

“I have to make sure you come home in one piece,” Steve says to Will. “You’ll mom’ll kill me if anything happens.”

“Everythings gonna be fine, stop worrying,” Robin says through one las bite of pancakes. “Enjoy the night. You need it too.”

Steve doesn’t say anything else. He sags in his seat, content to listen as Robin and Will change topics to the band and what the actual show might be like. Steve didn’t need to read between the lines much to know Robin was referring to Billy with her last sentence. Steve’s mind wanders towards the perpetually quiet boy. It always finds a way towards Billy these days as much as he tries to keep him out of his head. So many things hang between them. A mass of overlapping pieces, broken and incomplete that Steve doesn’t know what to do with. On his best days, they sit quietly at the back of his mind, where Steve keeps memories of monsters hiding inside the eyes of people he cares about and dead bodies floating in his pool. On his worst days, the noises inside of him become too much for Steve to leave his bed. Those are the days Robin usually spends the night. 

***

They arrive at the bar twenty minutes before showtime. Will and Robin are already restless, eager for their night to start. The bouncer, a bulky guy with a crew cut and a single earring, winks at Steve and he pretends not to notice. Robin and Steve agreed at dinner not to drink. They’re keeping their minds as clear as possible with a small, traumatized teen boy in their care. But it doesn’t stop Robin from going over to the bar to flirt with the bartender. A tall girl with pink hair. Steve and Will find a table in a corner near the bar. The crowd, for the most part, is pretty normal looking. At least compared to what Steve had envisioned. Everyone is about four years older than Steve and Robin. Most are dressed in a combination of blue jeans, leather jackets and t-shirts, all a little tighter than how people in Hawkins would usually wear them. Most have various rips in the fabric. Steve feels a bit outta place with his light blue sweater he bought at the Gap. But he’s glad he at least didn’t wear his khakis today. Robin comes to the table with three cokes clutched to her chest and a phone number written on the back of her hand. 

Soon enough, the lights dim along the bar dim. A few lights strike the small stage at the far end of the room where microphones and a drumset have been set up. Robin, Will and Steve follow the crowd that begins gathering in front of it. Steve is pretty sure that the person who walks on stage is a man dressed as a woman. What Steve assumes is a wig sits heavy and wide on top of their head, a bright bleach blonde color. Their make up is even more dramatic, reminding Steve almost of war paint. They wear a long, purple dress that trails glitter across the stage. She introduces herself as Cyndi to the crowd (C-Y-N-D-I she spells out) and most of the crowd already seems to know her. She cracks a couple of jokes that go right over Steve’s head but has the people around him cracking up. She blows the crowd a kiss before introducing the band who run on stage in fashion similar to that of the audience. Without any further introductions or warnings, they launch into the first song. A blast of guitar, feedback and angry sounding drums. Robin and Will start flailing around. So does everyone else around them. The music sounds like something Billy would listen to, Steve thinks. He quickly pushes the thought out of his head. He opts to join in instead, feeling awkward being the only one standing still. 

Bouncing with the crowd, the whole building feels like it’s vibrating. The bodies around him are thrashing in tandem. An ocean of uncontrollable movement. Steve basks in being a part of it. He feels every joint, bone and muscle in his body becoming loosened. Shaken out of place in the best way. He becomes just another mass of limbs pulsating along to the music falling out of the speakers.

***

After the band’s final song, the club puts on some pop music that Steve actually knows. Most of the crowd sticks around to dance. Steve stays to jump around with Will as Robin slinks off to the side to make out with a girl with half a shaved head. Around them, other couples pair off to do the same, either on the dance floor or beside it. Boys with boys, girls with girls, and people Steve isn’t sure how to label. The sight is surprisingly comforting to Steve. Something about the whole aura of the place, although a bit overwhelming at first, clicks with Steve. He doesn’t feel like he’s being watched. Like people are looking at him and seeing his whole history, his whole life laid out before and after him. It feels like he can breathe. Like knots he hadn’t known had been tied around him have loosened. And it looks like Will feels the same way as he flails around, no care in the world other than the music. 

Steve notices Cyndi making her way around the bar, teasing regulars and newcomers, flicking a bit of glitter here and there with a laugh and a wink. She passes by Steve and Will just starting to exit the dance floor, their muscles finally done spasming. “How cute,” she says, looking at Will and Steve, not unkind. “Brothers?” she asks. 

“Something like that,” Steve answers. He can feel Will glance at him. She smiles. “You’re both new,” she says. “It’s policy newbies get a kiss on the cheek to signify new blood. It also gets you free drinks at the bar.” 

She looks at Will. “May I?” She asks. He looks dumbstruck before nodding his head. “Sure,” he croaks out. She places a brief peck on Will’s check, leaving a bright red lipstick mark on the pale skin. She turns towards Steve, his turn to be asked. He nods his consent and in seconds is marked with the lipstick stain as well. 

“Stay happy, sweethearts,” she says, flicking a pinch of glitter in their direction before disappearing into the crowd. “Awesome,” Will says. Steve agrees as they continue towards their table. 

***

Twenty minutes after ten, after prying Robin off the girl with the shaved head, they’re finally on their way back to Hawkins. In the car, Steve listens as Robin and Will recount the highlights of their night. They gush about girls with tattoos and dyed hair ( Robin) to great music and free soda (Will). Steve’s heart threatens to burst from his chest. He thinks about how much both of them deserved a good night like this. Especially after everything they’ve gone through. He absorbs the happiness radiating off of them, the warmth welling up in his chest and stomach as he drives them home. It was a good night. 

***

The kitchen light and TV light can be seen from the driveway as they pull up to the Byers’ house. Steve and Robin start to walk Will inside, already prepared in case Mrs. Byers was up with questions. Waiting in the living room instead is the whole gang. With Billy seated quietly in the center of the couch between Max and Eleven as the boys are pacing in front of them. They stop immediately as soon as they see Steve and Robin walking in behind Will. The first thought Steve has immediately is that something bad has happened. Someone’s been hurt. Or a dozen other possibilities flicker through his mind in a split second before he recognizes the anger flashing across all the boys faces. Nancy and Jonathan walk out from the kitchen. There’s a beat of pure silence before the room erupts all at once. 

“Where the hell were you?” Mike asks, stepping towards Will. 

“And why is there a lipstick on your check?” Dustin asks. He looks at Steve. “On both of your cheeks?”

“What’s with the glitter?” Lucas chimes in. 

“Did you guys go to a strip club?” Max asks, amusement and disbelief in her voice.

“Did you take my brother to a strip club?” Jonathan asks, stepping into Steve’s personal space.

“Get real,” Steve says. “I wouldn’t take a kid to a strip club.”

“Well, where did you go?” Mike demands, clearly the angriest of the group. Max and Eleven remain calm on the couch next to a seemingly comatose Billy. He hasn’t even moved his eyes from the TV, Steve notices. 

“We were just in the city,” Will says, attempting to step around Mike and clearly avoid anymore probing. 

“Till eleven? Where in the city?” Mike asks, outrage and disbelief clear in his voice and face. 

“None of your business,” Will says.

“What?”

“It’s none of your business,” Will says again, face getting red. “Why do you care? What? Because I’m not at your beck and call, ready whenever you decide to want me around, now you care?” 

“What? That’s not-”

“You guys only hangout with me whenever it's convenient for you,” Will shouts. “You haven’t even noticed that-” Will stops, the words catching in his throat. 

“Noticed what?” Mike demands. Will’s eyes snap towards Robin and Steve. Without another word, he storms down the hall into his room.

“Will,” Robin calls, following after him. Steve stands in the doorway with half a dozen eyes looking at him curiously and tension still heavy in the air until he decides to follow them. In Will’s room, Steve finds Robin on Will’s bed with an arm around his shoulders, holding him as his body rocks and he sobs into her shoulder. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” she says gently. As gentle as Steve’s ever heard her. “It’s gonna be okay, Will.” She looks at Steve who slides down the wall adjacent to the bed. He doesn’t know what to do. He still feels awkward but knows to stay, at least. He watches as Robin talks Will through a full body sob that breaks Steve’s heart. 

***

After Will is finally tired out from crying, the only sound in the room is his choppy breathing. 

“I don’t know what to do,” he says. “I still wanna hangout with them and everything. I do miss them. But there’s this whole part of my life they don’t know, they don’t understand. Might never understand. Hanging out with you guys is so easy because you get it, you know.”

“Have you thought about telling them?” Robin asks.

“Yeah but I don’t know.” Will shrugs. “I’m afraid, I guess. It won’t be the same.”

“Well, do you want it to stay the same?”

Will is silent for a moment. “I don’t know,” he says. “Everything's just really complicated right now.”   
  


Robin squeezes Will’s shoulder. “Listen, it’s your choice when and if you tell anyone. But no matter what happens you have at least two people who are gonna stay by your side no matter what, okay? And at least one of them isn’t a dork.”

“Very funny,” Steve says. Will lets out a small half-laugh. 

“Whatever you need, man,” Steve adds. “We’ll be here.”

Will lets his head fall back against Robin’s shoulder. “You guys are so cool,” he mumbles into her t-shirt. 

***

Steve doesn’t know how long they’re in the room but when they finally leave Will’s room, Nancy and the kids are gone. 

“Nancy took the kids home,” Jonathan explains. 

“Cool,” Steve says. 

“So where did you take my brother?”

“Your mom didn’t tell you?”

“She was asleep when we got here. The kids bugged us at Nancy’s to bring them here when no one was answering the phone.”

“We just took him to a concert in the city, it wasn’t a big deal,” Robin says. 

Jonathan gives them a skeptical look before shrugging. “Okay,” he says, accepting the answer without any more explanation. “Goodnight,” he says as he starts walking to his room.

They go to leave before Steve notices Billy still sitting on the couch in the exact position he was in when he walked in, staring blankly at the TV. Steve stops walking. Robin is at the door when she notices. She stops to glance at the two boys. “I’ll go wait in the car,” she says before closing the door behind her, leaving him alone with stoic Billy. Steve stares at him for a second, not knowing what to do. He feels anchored to the ground, unable to move until something urges him to take a seat besides Billy. They don’t speak for a few seconds. The TV hums quietly in front of them, a rerun of Family Ties on the screen. 

“Where did you guys go?” Billy asks. Steve glances at him again. His eyes haven’t moved from the TV. 

Steve rubs a hand over his face and through his hair. The night is catching up with him, his body becoming heavy, everything much heavier than they were a few minutes ago as he sinks into the couch besides Billy. It makes the truth spilling out easier. The words leave his mouth without much thought besides being too tired to keep hiding from Billy. “We took him to a gay bar,” Steve says. Billy doesn’t respond. He stays quiet, unmoving. In the long silence that follows, Steve is immediately overtaken by doubt, second guessing whether or not he should’ve told Billy. Guilt begins to fester. He shouldn’t have told Billy about Will. It wasn’t his place. And what if Billy told-

“Stop worrying, I can feel you freaking out from here,” Billy says, a sliver of annoyance in his tone. The barest hint of his old voice peaking through the usual monotone. A glimpse of the perpetual attitude and irritation that used to rule his mouth back when he was a brash asshole. 

“Don’t tell anyone, okay?” Steve says. 

“I didn’t tell anyone about us, did I?” Billy says with his eyes still focused on the TV. 

It’s the first time Billy acknowledges their past flings since everything that happened at Star Court. A shiver runs over Steve. Something warm and uncomfortable tightens in his stomach. He knows Billy won’t tell anyone. Because of this, an immense guilt for having told Robin and Will about them soon fills Steve. He doesn’t know what else to say. 

He stands up to leave. At the door, he turns towards Billy who remains expressionless. “Goodnight, Billy,” he says. 

“Goodnight, Harrington.”


End file.
